101 Stories About Super Smash Bros!
by Father Hulk
Summary: WE'RE BACK, BABY! After a long break, this story has returned! A collection of little stories about the greatest fighting game ever! In chapter 15, Link suddenly disappears... what is everyone going to do? Updated June 20, 2006
1. The Calling

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101 Stories About Super Smash Bros.

By Father Hulk

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Opening Words: Hello my children! Father M.J. Hulk here fresh from Sunday services! I know, I know… I've been terrible with keeping up with my writing, I have a few stories that kind of died… "Loving Laura" for example… but I have a good feeling about this one! This is going to be my story to end all my stories! I dunno if I'll actually get to 101 stories, but it's a catchy title, isn't it? Well, I hope, as well as I'm sure you do, that this story lives up to my past history as a writer! Now, let's go read **101 Stories about Super Smash Bros!!!**

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CHAPTER ONE: THE CALLING

Paratroopas stirred in their nests and Little Goombas poked their heads out of the ground as the morning sun rose over Mushroomland. A rooster crowed in the distance, gently waking Mario from his deep sleep. He yawned loudly, rubbed his eyes, and pushed himself up to a sitting position.

"Mamma-mia," he mumbled sleepily, "Is it morning already?" He scratched his head. "I had the strangest dream… There was this world, and this big frog, and… ah, well, it was all a dream." 

Mario got up out of bed and went to brush his teeth when his mushroom-shaped phone rang.

"Hello?" he said, picking it up.

"Good morning, Mario!" sang a beautiful, golden voice.

Mario smiled. "Good morning, your highness!"

"Mario, can you come to the castle? I have something we need to discuss. I'd love to discuss it over breakfast."

"Absolutely. Let me just get dressed and I'll be right over."

"Thank you, Mario. Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Mario quickly got into his shirt and overalls and left his house, grabbing a mushroom on the way out. He strolled leisurely up to the gate to Mushroom Castle, where he was stopped by a Mushroom Retainer.

"Halt!"

Mario laughed. "It's a-me, Mario!"

"I'll need to see some proper identification if you want to see the Princess." the Toad said sternly.

"What??" Mario and the Toad stared at each other, then both simultaneously broke into laughter.

"Good to see you, Mario!" the soldier chuckled, hugging Mario. "Go on through!"

"Thank you!" Mario said, bowing, and walked past the gates and into the castle.

"Princess?" he called out into the echoing hall, "I'm here!"

He heard a door click behind him. "Good morning, Mario!"

Mario turned to see Princess Peach descending the large staircase that led down from the mezzanine. She looked breathtaking, as always, in a silky, blue morning dress. Her long, golden hair was flowing freely behind her, and she wore a warm smile upon her face.

"It's good to see you, Mario." She said, embracing him.

"Likewise," he said, hugging her back.

"Come," she said, standing up, "Toad's prepared breakfast."

"So I got a letter this morning," Peach was saying as they ate, "From a man called Mr. Handey. He said that I had been selected from all the citizens of Mushroom Land to take part in a special contest."

Mario chewed thoughtfully. "What kind of contest?"

"The letter didn't say. It just said it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and to respond immediately."

"If you ask me," piped up Toad, who was standing nearby, "I don't like the sound of it. It sounds like a trick."

"Hmm…" Mario rubbed his chin. "Think Bowser is behind it?"

"No. This letter was postmarked from a place way beyond the Mushroom Kingdom."

"The BeanBean Kingdom, maybe?"

Peach shook her head. "Someplace called Battlefield City. They said they'd arrange transportation if we agreed to go, but I've never even heard of the place."

"More coffee, your highness?" Toad offered.

"No, but thank you." Peach said, and then she turned back to Mario.

"I want to do it, Mario."

Mario finished his biscuit. "Well, that's great! I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about."

Peach's expression became worried. "Even so… I want you to come with me, Mario."

Mario raised his eyebrows. "Me?"

"Yes. Just in case there is something evil at work, I want you to be there for me."

Mario thought about it for a moment, then said, "Sure. No problem. I'll be right there with you."

Peach smiled. "Thank you Mario. I knew I could count on…" Peach was interrupted by a loud noise from downstairs, that sounded like the palace doors being flung open.

A deep voice rang through the hall. "Hello? Is anybody home? Gwa ha ha!"

Mario leapt from his seat. "It's Bowser. Stay here." He ran downstairs and screeched to a stop right before where Bowser, king of all Koopas, was standing.

"Don't take another step, or I'll hurt you." Mario warned.

Bowser seemed confused for a moment, then laughed heartily. "Gwa ha ha ha! No need to fear, overall breath!"

Mario held his ground. "Why are you here?"

"Uhhh, actually, to see you, shorty."

"To see me?"

"I wanted to know if I could borrow the Sky Pop."

"My plane? Whatever for?"

Bowser grinned a horribly toothy grin. "Well, unlike YOU, I have been chosen among all Koopas to compete in a special contest! And I'm gonna win it all!"

Mario raised his eyebrows. "You mean you've been chosen too?"

"What do you mean, 'too', red boy?"

"Well, it's just that Peach has also been selected to enter."

Bowser rubbed his chin. "Is that so…? Hmm…"

"Don't get any ideas!" Mario warned him. "Because I'm coming too."

"What? Are you accusing me of plotting to kidnap the Princess?"

Mario shook his head. "Let's not go there. Anyway, you don't need to borrow Sky Pop because all entrants get transportation provided for them."

"Oh? Oh really? Well, that's just dandy then! When do we leave?"

"Soon," came Peach's voice as she came downstairs. "I've just put the RSVP card in the mail, so it could be a few days until they come…"

Suddenly, a shadow passed across the large windows of the castle.

"What's that?" Mario wondered. The three of them dashed outside and gasped. Hovering slightly above the ground was a ball. A huge ball with a strange pattern on it. It was a vertical line running up the left side, and a horizontal line cutting low across it.

"Is that our transport?" Bowser growled. "It looks awful fishy."

They walked towards it cautiously, and all of a sudden, three brilliant blue beams shot from the ball, engulfing them in a blinding white light. Before any of them could say, "What's going on?" they were drawn inside, and the ball shot up into the stratosphere.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!" Link, the Hero of Time, burst through the Hyrule Castle doors and into the throne room, where a towering monster was standing over Princess Zelda. In two swift strokes of the Master Sword, the beast was dead.

"LINK!" Zelda cried, not in a grateful tone but in an angry one instead, "What on earth did you do that for?"

"You were in danger, princess," Link said, bowing.

"I most certainly was not!"

"Huh?"

"That was a messenger from Clock Town. He was bringing me a letter, not threatening to kill me!"

"Oh… I'm sorry."

"Well it doesn't really matter now, does it? Bring me the letter."

Link pulled the letter from the monster's grip and brought it to Zelda.

Zelda scanned it. "We've been chosen to compete in a contest." she said shortly.

Link's eyes narrowed. "We? You mean, both of us?"

"That's what it says."

"What kind of contest?"

"I'm not sure. It reads, 'A highly enjoyable time awaits you during this once in a lifetime opportunity! Transportation will arrive upon agreement.' That's all it says."

"I don't know, princess… It might be a trap."

"No… it isn't." Zelda said softly.

"What? How can you be sure?"

"Because I had a dream of this last night… I dreamt of a big get together, and I met so many interesting people, and then…"

"And then what?" Link pressed.

"The rest was wrapped in shadow… I could not see."

"Sounds suspicious to me."

Zelda was quiet for a minute, and then said, "I have to go."

"What?"

"I must. I have a feeling that something important will happen there. You must come too."

"So you're agreeing?"

"Yes, I'm agreeing."

Right as those words were spoken, a giant ball broke through the ceiling and descended down into the throne room, and drew Link and Zelda inside.

"Can I help you, young man?" The sea captain asked.

"Uh, yeah, I have to go here." Ash Ketchum replied, pointing at the writing on his ticket.

"Pika pika!" squealed Pikachu from his shoulder.

The captain studied the ticket, then looked up. "Son, this island you're talking about is so small… it's just a tiny spit of land! There's not even any place to dock!"

"Well, I have to go there. I'm competing in a contest!"

"A contest, eh?" The captain rubbed his chin, then shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I will not sail to that island."

"But…!"

"No! Now get lost, sonny!"

Ash walked off the dock, sulking. "Stupid captain… stupid stupid…"

"Pikaaa!" Pikachu echoed angrily.

Ash clenched his fists. "Well, if I can't get there by boat, then I'm going to fly there! Noctowl, I choose you!" With a flash of light, Ash's Noctowl appeared, hooting loudly. Ash held his Hoenn map in front of the owl and pointed to the island. "Noctowl, take us here, okay?"

Noctowl studied the map for a moment, then nodded. Ash and Pikachu jumped on, and Noctowl zoomed up into the air and they were off!

They had been in the air for about twenty minutes when Noctowl began to dive. Ash held onto his hat and looked down, to see the small island rising rapidly up to meet them.

"This is it, Pikachu!"

"Pika pika!"

Ash studied the surface of the island. "It doesn't look like there's any kind of competition going on, though… do we have the wrong island?"

Noctowl set Ash down on the center of the island, and Ash began looking around. 

"Hello? Is anybody here? I'm here for the competition!"

"Pika pikaaa!"

Suddenly, a huge sphere descended from the sky in front of them.

"Uhhh…"

When the ball was hovering just above the ground, a figure wrapped completely in a cloak and hood stepped out and approached them.

"We will be taking your Pikachu now." He said.

"What?"

"Your Pikachu will come with me." The man repeated.

"I don't think so! You're not taking Pikachu! Taillow, I choose…"

"STOP!!!" The figure commanded, and as if by magic, Ash's limbs froze solid. "Your Pikachu will be competing in the contest." The man specified.

"Th-th-the contest? It said that _I_ was chosen!" Ash managed to whisper.

The figure nodded under his hood. "That was a miscommunication on our part… We needed you to bring Pikachu here. You need not worry. Your Pikachu will be quite safe." Before Ash could say anything else, the man glided forward, picked up Pikachu by the waist, and re-entered the sphere, which shot up into space.

The large sphere, now having gathered almost all of the participants for the contest, zoomed through space at incredible speeds. Inside, the chosen ones regarded each other thoughtfully.

"So where do you come from?" Peach asked a short man in a blue winter coat, who was seated beside her.

"I come from the north," the man replied, "And my name is Popo."

Peach smiled. "I am Peach, the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom."

Popo nodded. "If it is a clear day, and I climb high, I can see your castle."

Meanwhile, Mario was making conversation with Link.

"Hyrule, huh?" he was saying, "Is that near the Mushroom Kingdom?"

"Nowhere near it." Link replied. "So what do you do for a living?"

"I'm a plumber." Mario replied proudly. "And I fight _that_ guy on weekends." He said, pointing to Bowser, who was tickling Pikachu's feet.

"Nice mousey.. Heheh.. Does the mousey like to be tickled?"

"Pika pikaaa!" Pikachu cried happily, laughing.

Suddenly, the ship gave a lurch as it appeared to slow down.

"What's going on?" Link wondered. Suddenly, a beam of light came down from the ceiling and another entrant appeared… Donkey Kong himself!

Mario rose to his feet, disbelievingly. The two regarded each other for several seconds, and then embraced.

"Good to see you, old friend!" Mario said, slapping his buddy on the back. They slapped the high five and "gave the pound," and then Donkey Kong said something in simian, then started on a banana.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the sphere, Princess Zelda was boring Yoshi the dinosaur with the history of the Royal Family of Hyrule.

"It's true that none of the others of the royal line have magic powers besides me… but maybe that's because I descended from the Hylia, who were an ancient race that dwelt on Hyrule long ago. Many of them were lost in a great battle back in the second age… And then, in the year 1224 of the second age, a young prince rode off with Princess Daniella, who used her power…" Yoshi made a gun with his fingers and repeatedly fired at his head.

A figure clad in armor sat alone on a bench near the far wall. It was to this figure that Fox Mccloud walked up to and sat down next to.

"You from the Lylat system?" he asked casually.

"No." replied the figure simply.

"Uhh… then where do you work?"

"I work alone." She replied, equally simply.

Fox nodded. "Hmm… Could I at least get your name?"

"My name is Samus."

"I'm Fox. Fox McCloud."

"Very well."

No more conversation was attempted.

Meanwhile, a tall, brash man in a purple suit was talking to a small boy in a baseball hat.

"So you want to be a fighter, kid?"

"Yeah! That'd be so cool!"

"All right then, show me your moves!"

The boy, whose name was Ness, proceeded to exhibit several fighting poses.

"That's good for starters," the man said, "But why don't you take a few swings at the old captain here, huh?" He thrust his chest forward. "Hit me with your best shot!"

Ness took out a cracked bat and slammed him right in the gut.

"Owwie!" Captain Falcon fell to his knees. "Nice… nice work, kid."

Link had gotten up and gone over to the vending machine. (Do spaceships even _have_ vending machines? New one on me…) He retrieved his Mars bar from the slot when he noticed a small, pink puffball staring up at him with big happy eyes.

"Hi there," Link said, petting the creature on the head. "Ohh, did you want me to get you something?" He gestured back to the machine.

Kirby shook his head, took a few steps forward, and then inhaled the entire machine! Link simply stared.

All of a sudden, the sphere gave a lurch and screeched to a halt. Before anybody could say, "What's goin on?" everyone was transported outside.

They looked around, amazed. They were standing in a huge courtyard, with tall, mansion-like houses all around. There were also different paths leading away from the courtyards, with signs that read, "Main Fighting Hall," "Special Training Hall," and "Multiple Fighter Arena."

"Mario," said Peach worriedly, "Is this some kind of _fighting_ competition?"

"I don't know…" Mario said.

"A strange place…" Popo mused.

"Mmm…" agreed his partner, Nana.

Suddenly, a huge voice echoed around them. "THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING!!! WELCOME TO BATTLEFIELD CITY! I AM YOUR HOST, MR. HANDEY!"

"Where is this guy?" Bowser growled.

"YOU WILL MEET ME IN DUE TIME. LET ME EXPLAIN WHY YOU ARE HERE. YOU HAVE ALL BEEN CHOSEN AS THE ELITE OF YOUR PEOPLE. YOU WILL NOW BATTLE EACH OTHER IN ORDER TO DECIDE WHO IS SUPERIOR OVER ALL!"

"But… we don't want to fight each other!" Zelda cried.

"YOU WILL FIGHT EACH OTHER…" Mr. Handey repeated, "FOR THE ULTIMATE PRIZE IN ALL OF LIFE AND IN ALL OF THE WORLD!"

Everyone looked at each other, dumbfounded.

"THIS CONTEST WILL LAST A LONG TIME. I HAVE THEREFORE FITTED SEPARATE QUARTERS FOR ALL OF YOU, WHICH I WILL NOW ASSIGN. MARIO, YOU AND THE PRINCESS MAY GO TO CABIN 1. LINK, YOU AND ZELDA WILL GO TO CABIN 2. DONKEY KONG, TO CABIN 3, POPO AND NANA TO CABIN 4, BOWSER TO 5, YOSHI TO 6, KIRBY AND PIKACHU, YOU MAY STAY WITH YOSHI. CAPTAIN FALCON, SINCE YOU HAVE SEEM TO HAVE FOUND A FRIEND IN YOUNG NESS, YOU MAY SHARE CABIN 7."

Captain Falcon patted Ness on the shoulder. He was just like a son to him.

"FOX, YOU SHALL GO TO CABIN 8, AND SAMUS TO CABIN 9. NOW THAT I HAVE ARRANGED ALL THE BUNKS, IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO RETIRE FOR THE EVENING. IN THE MORNING I WILL ADDRESS YOU AGAIN AND EXPLAIN THE RULES. FOR NOW, GOOD NIGHT." The voice faded into nothingness, and still the group stood in the courtyard, bewildered.

"I guess we should… go to our bunks." Fox said.

With many nods and mutterings of "Good night" and "Sleep well," the group dispersed and headed to their bunks. With few words, they made up their beds and settled in, and, since they were all very tired from their long journey, they fell quickly to sleep.


	2. The First Fight

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CHAPTER 2: The First Fight

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A/N: I'm gonna try to make the chappies a bit shorter, that last one was just the introductory chapter… hope you enjoy what's to come! **~Fasha Hulk**

Mario squeezed his eyes shut as the unusually bright sunlight pierced through the window of his cabin. He sat up. Still unsure whether or not yesterday's events had been another dream, or reality. However, a quick glance around at the extensively furnished cabin told him that he had not been dreaming.

Just as he sat up, a loud bell rang, echoing across the whole city, and Mr. Handey's voice returned.

"RISE AND SHINE, EVERYONE! IT IS TIIME FOR TODAY'S ACTIVITIES!" Groans could be heard from across the complex as the contestants rose from their slumbers.

In cabin 6, Yoshi was having some trouble waking Pikachu up.

"(Pikachu! Wake up, wake up!)"

Pikachu yawned. "(I don't wanna… Zzzz… Stop Team Rocket, and… zzzz… fluffy pancakes…)"

"(Hey guys, check me out!)" Kirby exclaimed, walking out of the bathroom wearing a hat that looked like the top of Yoshi's head.

"(Where'd you get that hat?)" Yoshi asked suspiciously.

"(I, uhh, made it last night. I couldn't sleep. Hey Pikachu! Hiiii, wake up!)"

Pikachu sleepily sat up and started to sparkle. "(Do you know what I do to people who wake me up early??? Hmm?)"

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Popo and Nana sat on the roof of their cabin.

"Hmm… big flash." Popo mused.

"Mmm…" Nana echoed.

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"How do I look?" Link asked Zelda, tilting his hat rakishly over his hair.

"Like yourself." She replied indifferently.

"Today's the first day of the tournament," he said, sidling over. "How about a kiss for good luck?"

Zelda magicked him to the other side of the cabin.

"Well excuuuuuse me, Princess!"

"Come, we must go." Zelda said, exiting the cabin.

Samus had been the first one to make it to the courtyard. She stood, staring at the rising sun through her helmet. This would be her first time actually fighting _with _ anybody. She had always been a loner… but hey, maybe this would be healthy for her… maybe she could even…….

"Hi," said a voice at her side. She jumped only slightly, and recovered with dignity.

"Hello, Mr. McCloud."

"Call me Fox." Fox said, smiling. "Were you up early?"

"I don't sleep."

"Oh…" Fox scratched his head. "Can I ask why?"

"Too many bad dreams." She said, looking at the sky. "Too many bad memories." She looked down at him, and smiled, even though he couldn't see. "So I prefer to live my dreams."

Fox smiled. "I work up in space too. I work for Team Starfox. (PPL, I forgot the name of his team, forgive me that I am forgetful in my old age… **F.H.**)"

"Team Starfox…" Samus mused, "Hey, isn't that who Falco Lombardi works for?"

Fox started. "How do you know Falco???"

Samus laughed. "I almost killed him on a mission once. Luckily, we got everything straightened out before the _real_ bad guys showed up."

"That's strange. Falco never spoke about you. Then again, he doesn't speak a lot about his past…"

Their conversation could not continue, however, since all the other members of the group had just arrived.

Mr. Handey's voice resounds: "BEFORE WE BEGIN THE COMPETITION, WE WILL HAVE THE OPENING CEREMONIES. PLEASE GO TO THE MAIN FIGHTING HALL TO THE EAST."

Following the east path, they arrived in front of a huge building, round in shape and very wide.

"Well, let's go in then." Bowser said, throwing open the door. The hall was gigantic, with rows of bleachers going up seemingly endlessly along the walls, and a large floor in the center, which was obviously for fighting.

Mr. Handey's voice resounds: "YOU ARE NOW ALL TO TAKE YOUR PLEDGE TO COMPETE AND STAY IN THE TOURNAMENT UNTIL THE VERY END, UNTIL ONE OF YOU HAS CLAIMED THE WORLD'S MOST PRIZED POSSESSION. STEP UP TO THE WELL, AND MAKE YOUR PLEDGE."

One by one, the members walked up to the large well that had appeared in the center of the hall and gave their pledge. Then, the well fell down into the floor, and a humongous iron sphere rose up in it's place, etched with the same pattern that had been on the transport ship. It burst into flame, and rose high above the roof.

"THE TOURNAMENT HAS NOW BEGUN!!!! NOW, LET ME EXPLAIN THE RULES. THE PRELIMINARY BATTLES WILL BE ONE ON ONE, FIVE OUTS PER FIGHTER. AN OUT IS CALLED WHEN A PLAYER IS KNOCKED OUTSIDE THE FIELD OF BATTLE. AS COMBATANTS EXCHANGE BLOWS, THEY WILL BECOME WEAKENED, EVENTUALLY SO MUCH THAT THEIR OPPONENT WILL BE ABLE TO SEND THEM FLYING OUT OF THE ARENA. WHEN THAT HAPPENS, MY ASSISTANTS WILL HEAL YOU AND SEND YOU BACK. YOU WILL HAVE MANY HELPFUL ITEMS TO AID YOU, RANGING FROM A LASER SWORD, TO A BOB-OMB, TO A POKE BALL."

Pikachu cocked his head.

"TO BEGIN THE TOURNAMENT OFFICIALLY, WE WILL NOW STAGE THE FIRST FIGHT WHILE YOU ARE ALL TOGETHER. CAN I PLEASE HAVE MARIO AND DONKEY KONG STEP TO THE CENTER OF THE FLOOR. THE REST OF YOU, SIT ON THE SIDELINES."

Uncertainly, Mario and Donkey Kong stepped into the arena and stood opposite each other. A figure wrapped in a cloak and hood stepped forward.

"Mario, call it in the air."

"Heads!"

The figure picked up the coin. "It's heads. We go to Mario's world."

As if by magic, the stadium and bleachers disappeared, and they were standing on the roof of Princess Peach's castle! They looked around, dumbfounded.

"Nice touch," Bowser commented.

"(Ugh, I can't look at that roof anymore,)" Yoshi groaned. "(I spent so much time up there…)"

"NOW, BEGIN!!!"

Mario took a Jack Dempsy stance. "Come on.. What, Mokey boy? Huh? What?"

Donkey Kong growled and dashed in and delivered a low kick. Mario recovered and did his signature "punch-punch-kick." Donkey Kong slapped the ground, and Mario went flying up in the air, but came back with a drill kick that nailed DK in the face. DK grabbed Mario by the waist and threw him aside. Mario did a roundhouse kick that knocked DK on his back. DK got up by flinging his feet forward, which knocked Mario onto _his_ back. They proceeded to exchange blows, and finally, Donkey Kong wound up and slammed Mario from the arena. But just as quickly as he had left, he reappeared.

"YOU MAY STOP NOW!" Mr. Handey commanded, and the stadium turned back to normal. "I SIMPLY WANTED YOU TO GET A FEEL FOR BATTLING. YOU WILL NOW HEAD TO THE SPECIAL TRAINING HALL, WHERE MY ASSISTANTS WILL EDUCATE YOU ON THE ART OF TRUE FIGHTING AND HELP YOU PERFECT YOUR OWN, UNIQUE SKILLS. THE SPECIAL TRAINING HALL IS WEST OF HERE… STUDY HARD, THAT YOU MAY BECOME THE VICTOR!"

When the voice faded, one of Mr. Handey's assistants, (Those cloak-and-hood folk) directed them out of the hall and to the western path. "This way… half a mile… train well…"

_A/N: I don't want to spend a lot of time detailing the actual battles, because I'd like to save more room for drama, and the storytelling itself. Just so you know, this way in case you feel like writing to me complaining that I only used a paragraph for the whole battle, you'll understand. _**LOVE FATHER HULK**


	3. Fox's Thoughts On Love

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CHAPTER 3: Fox's Thoughts On Love

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A/N: I'm going to start individualizing the stories now, so that each chapter is kind of a story unto itself. That's what I wanted to do with the whole "101 Stories" thing. Now that we have the premise set up, we can start the REAL storytelling! MWAAHAHAHAH… (cough) (cough) (hack!!!) Ahem… ok, here we go.

The first day of the preliminaries was kind of rough for everyone, since nobody was really accustomed to the fighting style of "fight till you fly off the field." However, once a few rounds had been fought, everyone loosened up and things started moving swiftly.

The way the battles were arranged was simply this: Out of all 14 contestants, each one is paired up with someone else, and they are transported to a replica of their homeland in the form of a battlefield, where they fight each other until someone has suffered five outs. They then switched to the other player's battlefield and repeated, until one of the players won 2 out of 3 rounds.

The array of items that dropped from the sky was astonishing, and many people recognized items that were direct from their homeland. When Link grabbed a hammer in his match against DK, DK started having flashbacks and fainted. Mario threw down a Poke Ball in his match with Pikachu, and although Pikachu tried to communicate with the Marill that emerged, it seemed absolutely ineffective, and he was doubleslapped off the field. Let us now take a peek at Fox and Samus who are fighting their second match of the round.

Fox jumped high and drill kicked Samus, whose armor seemingly deflected the entire attack. She grabbed him with her grappling beam and threw him to the ground.

"You'll have to work twice as hard as that just to inflict damage on me, Foxie!" she taunted, rolling to the other side of the Brinstar stage.

Fox got up. "Oh yeah?" He grabbed a ray gun that had just fallen, and whirled on her with the ray gun in one hand and his blaster in the other. And, speaking like Clint Eastwood, he said, "Be careful what you wish for….punk!" He eased his fingers onto the triggers. "Come on!!!"

Unfortunately, Fox had forgotten that Samus had already charged her energy ball up to full power, and just when he let loose with the guns, he found himself deep fried and flung from the arena!

"That's out 5! I win!" Samus cried gleefully. Detecting the fifth out, the battlefield dissolved back into a regular, stone-floored room. (All the arenas start out that way, btw.) Fox landed on his butt on the stone floor.

"Yeah, you win all right…" he said, rubbing his shoulder. "That energy ball smarts, you know…"

Samus ignored him. "Ugh, I'm overheating!" she groaned, and she took off her helmet and placed it on the bench beside her.

Fox looked up and saw Samus without her helmet for the first time. Twinkling eyes, perfect smile, long golden hair… 

"What are you staring at?" Samus grunted, glaring at him. "Haven't you ever seen a woman before?"

Fox was a bit tongue tied. "Uh, uh, uh, I mean, yeah of course I've seen women before! What are you talking about?"

"Hmmph… If you'll excuse me!" Samus got up and walked into the ladies room, slamming the door behind her.

_It is true that I have seen many women before…_ Fox thought to himself. _But… never one quite as beautiful as her. Ah, what am I saying? There's not even a chance! Not one speck of hope._

The door opened again and Samus reappeared, out of her armor and in a dark red sweatsuit. "It feels so good to get out of that armor!" she sighed. She tossed her hair behind her and said, "So how do I look?"

Fox was baffled. "Ummm… ummm…." Finally he gathered himself and said with a smile, "You look great."

Samus looked up and smiled brightly. "Why, thank you, Mr. Fox."

"Just Fox, if you please, Samus."

"You can call me Sam," she said, picking up her bag. "All my friends call me Sam."

"Oh… I guess.. I'm one of your friends then, huh?"

Samus laughed. "You must be! Well, I've got a match with Pikachu in five, so I'll see you around." And she was gone.

Fox sat down on the stone bench. 

_I think she likes me…_ he thought. _Or maybe not… maybe it was just "friend talk." But wouldn't that be something? Samus and I? Heh heh. Well I don' even know anything yet, but it's nice to dream. What time is it? Hmm, 3:25. Hey, I have a match in five minutes too! I better get moving!_

Fox packed up and left the locker room, perhaps a little happier than when he entered.


	4. Mario The Matchmaker

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CHAPTER 4: Things You Talk About At The Dinner Table

Fox deflected Mario's fireballs with his shield, then Fire Fox-ed him right out of the arena to win the round.

"Nice work," Mario said, after he had rematerialized in the stone room. "Not too bad at all."

"Thank you." Fox said, drinking from his water bottle. "I'm glad those people in the cloaks taught me that shield move."

"Who _are_ those guys, anyway?" Mario wondered out loud. "They're so mysterious."

"They're probably like Mr. Handey… just shy in public, that's all."

"And who is this Mr. Handey?" Mario continued, getting into fresh overalls. "We haven't even met the guy."

"I don't know…" Fox said. "I really don't know."

Mario looked at his watch. "Well, come on, we can be the first ones at dinner."

"Okay."

On the way down the dirt path, Fox looked over by one of the other locker rooms and saw Link leaning against the wall talking to Samus. They both seemed to be in pleasant moods, and Fox couldn't hear what Links said, but Samus threw back her head and laughed, and they continued to talk.

Fox looked away. He had known his first instincts had been right. Not a ghost of a chance.

"Hey, Fox, what's wrong?" Mario asked, noticing his friend's downcast features.

Fox stole a quick look back, then shook his head and said, "It's nothing. Just forget about it."

Mario grinned slyly. "You want the space babe, don't you?"

Fox laughed sarcastically. "Who said that?"

Mario patted Fox's back. "You could have her, you know."

Fox snorted. "Yeah right. Looks like she's already got a 'friend.'"

Mario pulled Fox to a stop. "Looks like it, huh? Look again."

Fox turned around just in time to see Samus slap Link across the face, and Link walked away, growling.

"See?" Mario said. "She's wide open."

By this time they had reached the dinner hall, and they were the only ones there save for Zelda and Peach, who were doing each other's makeup.

"So what do I do?" Fox asked desperately as they got their trays.

"Well, first you have to ask yourself… do you really like her?"

Fox thought back to the locker room, to the beautiful face, the musical laugh… "Yes," he said after a moment. "I really do like her."

"Okay, we're making progress already." Mario said, as a clock-and-hood guy served them their hot dogs, which was the special tonight. "Next thing: Do you want to be passive or do you want to be aggressive?"

"Huh?"

"Well, do you want to make the first move, or drop hints until _she_ makes the first move?"

Fox was bewildered. "I really don't know."

"Ok then, we'll do this the old fashioned way: A good ol' pour your heart out love confession!"

"O..Ok…"

"Now, let me ask you, what do you think is the best way to tell her you like her?"

Fox thought a moment. "Take her to dinner, maybe?"

They sat down at an empty table. "That's a good idea," Mario said, "But I've got a better one. Take her to see _Two Hearts on a Velvet Couch._"

Fox made a face. "That new, romantic, mushy chick-flick?"

"Yeah," Mario replied. "Girls like that stuff."

"Ok, then what?"

Mario whispered the rest of his plan.

Fox sat back and stared at the plumber. "Mario? How do you get so good at this? How do you know all this?"

Mario rolled his eyes and pointed at Peach. "I spent nights just trying to figure out how to get her to kiss me, and after all that it was just on the freakin nose! Who kisses people on the nose? I don't get it."

Fox laughed. "Well if this works, I swear I'll let you win all of our matches."

Mario chuckled. "Don't be silly. Anyhow, the shuttle ships take people all over the place from Battlefield City on weekends, so that would be the perfect time to go."

"Got it." Fox said. Just then, Samus walked in, as graceful as ever. She noticed Fox watching her and gave a little wave.

Mario whispered in Fox's ear: "She's practically yours already."

"Hey there, cowboys!" Peach said, walking over. "What are you two talking about so quietly over here?"

"Oh, nothing…" Fox said, winking at Mario. "Just, you know, guy stuff."

Peach rolled her eyes, then saw Zelda leaving and squealed, "Wait for me, wait for me! We have to watch Friends at 8!!!"


	5. The Date

****

CHAPTER FIVE: That Could Be Us

"So what do you think?"

Samus shook her head and smiled. "You _really_ want to go see that _Two Hearts_ movie?"

Fox smiled. "Sure! Why not?"

"And you want _me_ to come with you?"

"Well, I dunno… I can't go all by myself…"

"I'd love to." She said. "How about the 6:30 show?"

_Great, it'll be evening. I can take her to dinner too._ Fox thought. "6:30 sounds great!"

"Okay. Look, I have to go change before afternoon training, and then I'll get ready and meet you out here in the courtyard, okay?"

"You got it."

That evening, in the girl's shower…

"So you'll never guess who asked me out today." Samus said.

"Let me guess… Link?" Peach said with a giggle. Zelda slapped her.

"Not even close. One Fox McCloud."

"Is that right?" Zelda said. "Do you like him?"

"I don't know," Samus replied, shampooing her hair. "But he _is_ a great guy. I think he's just trying to be friendly though."

"Sam, girl, you are so naïve." Peach scoffed. "He's taking you to the movies, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So it's going to be dark. He's going to try something in the darkness. That's what boys do. Not that it's a bad thing…" As she said this last part, she and Zelda exchanged glances and giggled.

"Well, whatever happens happens, I guess." Samus said.

"Do you _want_ something to happen?" asked Nana.

"I don't know… I mean, ya know, it might be nice… but, don't get me wrong…" Samus faltered.

"One night, Popo took me up high… Stars all around… He ask me name of constellation, and while I say it, he kiss me." She giggled. "Popo very frisky!"

Samus threw a towel around herself. "Well, it's almost time. Thanks for your advice, girls. I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Good luck!" Peach called after her, waving.

The shuttle transport zoomed through the streets outside Battlefield City towards the city of Aldaria, and to the StarPlex 500. Fox and Samus sat inside, next to each other but not in any close proximity.

Fox broke the silence. "So I was thinking after the movie, we could go to this really nice restaurant near the Maldaan System… they have the best food in the whole sector!"

"So you're taking me to a movie _and _dinner?" Samus asked. "Wow, I don't know, Foxie… Sounds like you're planning something." She winked at him.

"You know what, you're right. I am planning something."

"Oh really now?"

He moved closer. "Yes. I am planning a great evening with you!"

Samus laughed. "Oh… we're here!"

They stepped off the ship into the gleaming streets of Aldaria. Every building was lined with neon lights, and there was loud music playing and people everywhere!

"Wow! It's a regular metropolis." Samus mused.

They bought their tickets and popcorn and went into the theater, and the movie started.

_It was autumn, a beautiful autumn day as I reread the letter my love had written to me…_

As they watched, Samus reached her hand in the popcorn bag the same time Fox did, and their hands met.

"Sorry," they said and the same time, and giggled.

About an hour into the movie there began a very romantic scene between the two lovers.

_"Greg, I just have to tell you that… It's been so hard… I've been around you for so long, and I've known you, but I've so dearly wanted to be closer to you!"_

"Jennifer, are you serious? You're reading the exact words from my mind!"

"Kiss me, Greg. Please!"

The two lovers on screen embraced and kissed passionately. Fox slowly moved his hand on top of Samus's and leaned over and whispered, "That could be us, you know."

Samus turned around in her chair to look at him. "What are you saying, Fox?"

Fox gulped. It was now or never. "Samus, I… well… ohh, say you'll go out with me, Samus? Please? You've completely captured my heart!"

Samus fell back in her chair and took a few deep breaths. She had kind of thought that Fox liked her but she never expected him to come right out like that.

Fox nudged her. "Samus? Sam?" He added with a smile. She turned to him.

"Oh, Fox… I…"

"Shh…" he put his finger over her lips, and they leaned closer and kissed each other, lightly at first, and then breaking apart, but then they kissed again, stronger this time.

When they finally separated, Fox said, "Is it safe to say that that means yes?"

She kissed him again. "Yes," she whispered. She broke off the armrest between seats and snuggled with him the rest of the movie.


	6. A Hot Item

****

CHAPTER 6: A Hot Item

The transport ship arrived back at Battlefield City around 10:00 at night. Fox and Samus got off, and, holding hands, walked to Samus's cabin.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow," Fox said, a bit awkwardly.

"Yes, you will." She said, giving him a quick kiss. "I look forward to it."

"Good night, Sam."

"Goodnight, Foxie." She winked at him, and disappeared into her cabin. Fox watched her go in, and he felt truly happy for the first time in a long time.

He made his way back to his cabin, which was dark, since he didn't leave a light on. He clicked the door shut, turned on the light, and screamed in surprise.

"You seem surprised to see me." said Mario, who was sitting calmly in an easy chair.

"You scared me, you idiot!" Fox growled. "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to know about the kissy-kissy huggy-huggy session at the movies, that's all."

Fox eyed him suspiciously. "How did you know about that?"

Mario grinned slyly. "I didn't. You just told me."

Fox, too exhausted to stay angry, flopped down on another chair.

"So can I assume that you two are a hot item now?" Mario asked.

Fox sighed. "I guess you could say that."

"See? What did I tell you? My plan worked to perfection!"

Fox chuckled. "Well, actually, I left out the part about grabbing her butt during the love scene. I thought that would be pushing it a bit."

"What?" Mario exclaimed, "But that's one of the most pivotal parts!"

Fox groaned.

Over the next few days, Fox and Samus spent as much time as they could together. They were rarely seen apart, and they often disappeared together for sometimes hours on end. _ (Just to show that I DO pay attention in college: This is the stage of romantic escalating interaction that Julia T. Wood calls "Euphoria," which comes right after Exploratory Communication. :-P **F.H.**)_ Sometimes, though, if Fox and Samus would be sharing a dinner table with someone else, or be in training sessions with each other and other people, it was _very_ difficult for them to keep their hands to themselves, if you know what I mean.

**************************************

**_RYAN: _**He's the fox to her McCloud if you know what I mean.

**COLLIN: **Shut up, he's trying to tell us a story!

**RYAN: **He's spinning a yarn if you know what I mean.

**DREW: BZZZZZT!**

**************************************

That Friday night, Fox was walking Samus back to her cabin, and when they got there, Samus turned and whispered, "Want to spend the night with me?"

Fox was taken aback. "Well, umm…"

She put her hands together in front of her. "Pleeeease, Foxie?"

Fox grinned. "Sure. What the hell? Hehehe." Samus practically dragged him inside.

Five hours later, Fox opened his eyes. He was awake, but he was still exhausted from the prior, er, "events." As he had shortly found out, Samus had quite a bit of experience in physical pleasure. 

"Hey," he whispered, nudging Samus, "You awake?"

"Mmm…" she said, rolling over and putting her head on his chest, "How you feeling?"

"Really, really good, but really really tired.

She chuckled. "I guess I gave you a workout, didn't I?"

"Yeah. But you know what? I love working out." He kissed her.

She laughed softly. "Come on, let's go to sleep."

"I thought you don't sleep," Fox said.

She squeezed him tighter. "I could get used to it."

They fell asleep together, both of them more in love than they'd ever been before.


	7. A Pokemon In Need

****

CHAPTER 7: A Pokemon In Need

__

A/N: For those of you wondering where the hidden characters are, they will each have their own unique way of entering Battlefield City. Why am I telling you this at the beginning of this particular chapter? Ohh, I dunno… Yee hee hee hee!!!!

Pikachu sat lazily in the cabin, not doing much of anything. It was Sunday, so there were no matches, and so he spent his time watching TV, or sleeping.

"(This is the life,)" Pikachu thought to himself, flipping on the 3:00 news.

**_Hello, you're watching Eyewitnees News, with Susan Ortega and Bruce Nolan! Now, here's the news!_**

BRUCE: Our top story today: Dozens of members of the Iranian Parliament hold a sit-in because of a dispute over the next election! Spokespeople for the protesting group say they believe that a solution is possible, and they only hope it goes better than the previous election. Susan?

****

"(Borrring!)" Pikachu yawned. "(I wonder what else is on?)"

But before he could change the channel, the next story came on and captured Pikachu's attention.

**_SUSAN: _**In other news, for all of you who love watching Pokemon battles on TV and wish they could one day sit in a live battle arena, we have good news! The Pokemon League has licensed sixteen other cities in various countries as official Pokemon League Tournament Cities, and so starting this weekend, Pokemon Fever has spread rapidly across dozens of countries as the tournaments began. The locations of the new halls are:…"

Pikachu quickly wrote down the different cities, then said, "(Hey! They opened a hall in Aldaria! Maybe I'll go check it out!)"

Just then, Kirby and Yoshi walked in, bickering over whether or not Meta Knight was a good guy or not.

"…He helps me all the time!" Kirby was saying.

"Really? Then why did he attack you in _Kirby's Adventure_?"

"We didn't know each other then!"

"Oh, well…"

"Hey guys, wanna come see a Pokemon fight with me?" Pikachu asked.

"What are you talking about?" Kirby asked, much relieved to stop fighting with Yoshi.

"They opened a Tournament Hall in Aldaria, and there's a Great Ball cup being held there today."

Yoshi and Kirby looked at each other and then said, "Sure, why not?"

So that afternoon, Kirby, Yoshi, and Pikachu stepped off the shuttle transport in front of Pokemon Stadium Aldaria. Pikachu then noticed that Kirby was wearing a hat that looked like the top of his head.

"Where'd you get that hat?" Pikachu growled.

"I made it while you took a nap on the shuttle," Kirby explained. He quickly ditched the hat, though.

They walked up to the ticket office, where a tall man with short purple hair was selling the tickets.

"Umm, can I help you three?" He asked.

"We want to buy tickets to watch the fight!" Pikachu said.

"Umm, I can't understand you," The man said.

Pikachu slapped his head. "That's right, they can't understand us…" Pikachu tried miming the same message.

The man just said, "Uhhh…" Then he turned and shouted, "Hey Meowth, get over here!"

"What's up?" Said a Meowth, who jumped up on the sill.

"Talk to these people." The man ordered him.

"We want to buy tickets," Pikachu explained.

"They say they want to buy tickets," Meowth told the man.

"Oh… That'll be six dollars each."

Yoshi gave him the money, and he gave them the tickets.

"You're in row H, seats 4, 5, and 6." The man told them. "Enjoy!"

After the trio had walked through the turnstile, Meowth scratched his head and said, "Gee, James, it may just be me, but that Pikachu looked awful familiar. Hey, you don't think…?" They looked at each other, then said, "Naaaah."

The tournament was spectacular! The Great Ball was a battle for mid-level, middle-evolved Pokemon, or unevolved Pokemon if they only had two stages, since the highest evolved forms were for the Ultra Ball.

The three of them were dazzled. This was the first time Yoshi and Kirby had ever seen a Pokemon fight, and for Pikachu, it was nice to get back to his roots a little bit. The Pokemon fought like pros, and the competition was very fierce.

About three quarters into the tournament, it was time for a Cue Ball to take on a Biker.

"I don't like the looks of that Biker," Yoshi whispered. "He looks like he's up to no good."

The Cue Ball cracked his whip, and a Jigglypuff bounced into the arena. "Go fight!" he ordered his Pokemon.

The battle went fairly well until the fifth turn, when the biker used his dirty trick. "Koffing, use Power Poison!" (New attack I made up. **F.H.**) A thick purple cloud rose from Koffing and wrapped itself around Jigglypuff, who tottered over, cried out in pain, and collapsed.

"That's dirty play!" cried Pikachu. "Ass hole!"

The Cue Ball was enraged. "Worthless Pokemon!!! Grr, get over here!" He dragged the Jigglypuff out of the stadium by her ear.

Kirby nudged Pikachu. "I think we should go make sure she's okay."

Pikachu nodded. "Good idea. Come on, Yoshi!"

They ran to the outside of the stadium, but didn't see the trainer or the Jigglypuff. Suddenly, they heard cries of "Jiggly!!!!!" and so they followed them, and stopped in horror to see the man beating up the Jigglypuff!

"I told you to be a strong Pokemon! I whipped you good into shape! What the hell is the matter with you??!!" Jigglypuff cowered, her hands over her face, crying.

"Hey!" Pikachu called. "Knock it off!"

"What was that?" The man said, and looked up to see Pikachu, Kirby, and Yoshi standing there. "Oh, some little animals. You gonna get tough with me or what?" He laughed.

Pikachu began glowing, and then zapped the man with a Thunderbolt. Then he said to Yoshi, "Hard boil this punk." Yoshi stepped forward, gulped the man and encased him in an egg.

"That'll hold him for a while." Yoshi said, rolling the egg over behind a dumpster. Then the three of them ran to Jigglypuff's side.  
"Hey," Kirby said, "Are you okay? Hiiiii? Are you all right?"

"Help… me…" Jigglypuff wheezed. "I…don't…feel so good…" Then she fainted.

"She needs medical help, fast!" Pikachu cried. "Come on, we have to get her to the shuttle!"

"No," Kirby said, "It'll take too long. I have a better way." He pulled out a cell phone with a star on the antenna and dialed a number. "Stand back," he warned, and in five seconds, a warp star crashed to the ground. "Come on, hop on."

Pikachu carefully picked up Jigglypuff, and then he and Yoshi jumped on the warp star with Kirby.

"Battlefield City," Kirby ordered, and they shot up into the sky, leaving a trail of stars in their wake.


	8. Dr Mario's Family Practice

****

CHAPTER 8: Dr. Mario's Family Practice

The shining warp star crashed down in the courtyard of Battlefield City.

"Get someone!" Pikachu told Yoshi, "And quick!"

"Who should I get?" Yoshi asked frantically.

"I don't know! Get that Mario guy."

Yoshi ran to Mario's cabin and banged on the door.

"Oh, hello Yoshi," Mario said when he opened the door, "What's up?"

"We need your help! There's a sick Pokemon!" Yoshi cried.

Mario scratched his head. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"There's a sick Jigglypuff that needs help!!" Yoshi screamed. When Mario just stared at him blankly, Yoshi grabbed his hand and dragged him to the center courtyard, where Pikachu was making sure Jigglypuff still had a pulse.

"She's okay, so far." He told Kirby.

"Mamma-mia!" Mario cried when he arrived on the scene with Yoshi, "A sick Pokemon!"

"I think we better get her to a doctor right away," Pikachu said.

"You know what? I think we'd better get her to a doctor right away!" Mario said. Pikachu slapped himself. "Come on," Mario said, "I know a very good doctor. I just don't know how to get there from here…"

Kirby passed Mario his cell phone. "What is this?" Mario asked. He held it up to his ear, and heard: "To summon Warp Star, please input your destination."

"Dr. Mario's Family Practice," Mario said.

The phone beeped. "Searching… searching… Found! Please step away."

In a few seconds, another warp star came crashing down. They all got on and zoomed off.

The star crashed to the ground in front of a white building in the middle of a bustling city.

"God, it's been ages since I've been here," Mario said. "Here, let me hold the Pokemon." He gently picked Jigglypuff up, and then held the door open for Yoshi, Kirby, and Pikachu, and then walked in.

The doctor's office's walls were white, and there were pictures on the wall of Dr. Mario posing with various celebrities who knew him when they were growing up in the 80's. There were also drawings some of his child patients had drawn; some of nasty looking viruses, others of Dr. Mario holding shoving pills down the virus's throats, and some sloppy drawings of Dr. Mario himself. There were rows of chairs attached to the wall, and little corner tables with magazines on them.

"Can I help you?" Asked the doctor's assistant, Nurse Peach. (She's the Peach that fights against you with the Dr. in that one event match. **F.H.**)

"We need to see Dr. Mario, and quick!" Mario told her.

"I'm sorry, the doctor is with a patient right now. It'll be a few minutes."

"No, we can't wait!!" Pikachu cried. "Mario, tell her we need to see him NOW!"

"With all due respect, Nurse," Mario continued, "This is a life or death situation!"

Nurse Peach rubbed her chin. "Life or death? Hmm… hold on one moment." She got up from her desk and went into the office. Moments later, the door opened, and the nurse walked out followed by Dr. Mario himself!

Mario and Dr. Mario regarded each other for several moments before embracing heartily.

"It's been a long time, old friend," Dr. Mario said.

"Yes," Mario replied, then said, "You have to help us! There's a sick Pokemon here that's been badly poisoned."

Dr. Mario put his stethoscope on and said, "Bring her in the back."

Mario picked up Jigglypuff in his arms and went into the back office, followed by Kirby, Yoshi, and Pikachu, who jumped up on the table with Jigglypuff.

"Now, let's see…" Dr. Mario took Jigglypuff's temperature, looked down her throat, and took her blood pressure. "Well, to start off, she has a fever. It's about 103. Now, let's see if we can wake her up." Dr. Mario took some smelling salts and held them under the fainted Pokemon's nose.

Jigglypuff stirred, and then with a deafening cry of "JIGGLY!!!!" bounced awake and started swinging at everything she saw. However, this lasted only a few seconds, and then she coughed, moaned, and collapsed on the table again.

"Hello, Jigglypuff, I'm Dr. Mario." Dr. Mario said. "How are you?"

"He…asks…me…how I am?" Jigglypuff moaned to Pikachu. "(cough cough) Quack."

"Jigglypuff, I'm going to give you a shot to get rid of the poison, ok? It may hurt just a bit."

"A shot?" Jigglypuff cried. "NO!! No I don't want a shot!!!" Jigglypuff began quivering, but Pikachu held her and said, "Shh… it'll be over before you know it. And I'm here." He smiled at her as he said this. Jigglypuff smiled faintly, and then braced herself as Dr. Mario stuck her with the needle.

"There!" Dr. Mario said, taking off his gloves. "All done!"

"Th--that's IT?" Jigglypuff said, startled. "That was nothing!"

"Do you know what she's saying, Doc?" Mario asked.

"Nope. But I think she's probably glad to be rid of the sickness." Jigglypuff exhibited this quite clearly by bouncing over and latching onto the good doctor in a gigantic hug.

"Whoa there!" Dr. Mario patted Jigglypuff's back. "You were a good patient." When she got down, Dr. Mario took out his prescription pad. "I'm going to prescribe her some megavitamins. Just have her take one a day until they run out."

"Thanks so much, Doc," Mario said, taking the slip. Then he took out his wallet. "What do I owe you?"

Dr. Mario snatched the wallet from Mario, and smiling gently, put it back in Mario's pocket. "It was my pleasure," he said.

Mario grinned. "You're the best, doc."

"Remember, you can come see me anytime you need me." Dr. Mario added as they left.

"Can you walk, Jigglypuff?" Pikachu asked.

"No…" Jigglypuff said. "But I can bounce!!!" And with that, she bounced happily out the door, Pikachu following after.


	9. Link's Rough Day

****

CHAPTER 9: Link's Rough Day

__

A/N: Hey! Link's back, by popular demand, although his day isn't all that great. Don't forget, there's tons of stories waiting to be made, so you'll see all your fave characters eventually. ^_~

The morning sun gently broke through Link's cabin window, waking him from his deep slumbers. He yawned and opened his elfin blue eyes. Today was going to be a good day! He could feel it! He was going to win all his battles, and he was going to see if he could ask Zelda to have dinner with him tonight. It would be their first serious date, since they never really went out before.

"Aaah," he said, stretching, "I should go take a shower… gotta start the day off on the right foot!" As he said this, he got out of bed, stepped down with his right foot…right on his sword!!!

"AAAAAAH!!!" He cried, grabbing his foot and jumping up and down in pain, looking at the gash on his sole. "DAMMIT DAMMIT DAMMIT!!!" He hopped over to the wall and steadied himself, blood pouring from the wound. "Umm, umm, first aid! Let me see…" He found the small first aid box on the overhead shelf and opened it. It contained bandaids, peroxide, Q-tips, cotton swabs, and some other kinds of ointment.

"I have no idea what to do with any of this," he growled. He decided to clean the cut with peroxide, (Which hurt like HELL, btw) and he put two bandaids over it.

"There," he huffed, putting pressure on it. "At least I can walk." He brushed his hair back. "Huh, hell of a way to start the day! Well on to that shower!"

Link walked into the bathroom of the cabin, laid his hat on the toilet seat, and disrobed. He started the shower, and, eager to cleanse himself of the grime of the previous day, leapt in.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" He screamed, leaping out again. "COLD!! COLD!! COLD!!!"

At the worst possible time, there was a knock on the door. "Hello? Link, are you in?"

"It's Mario!" Link growled. He threw a towel around himself and threw the door open. "What??"

Mario was startled. "Oh… well, uhh, I just wanted to let you know that I've been working on the piping all morning," he said, holding up the toolbox he had in his right hand, "But you're not going to have any hot water for at least the rest of the day." He chuckled. "I guess you kinda already found out, huh?"

Link shot daggers at Mario with his eyes. "You think that's funny, little man?"

Mario got nervous. "No! No, not at all! It's never funny when you have no hot water! In fact, one time when I was living in Brooklyn, my apartment lost hot water for five days! Luigi and I had to…"

"GET OUT OF HERE!!!" Link roared. Mario scampered down the path out of sight. "Let's hope it only gets better from here," he grumbled to himself.

Most of the group was already in the dining hall when Link arrived. When Mario noticed him, he suddenly became very interested in the morning newspaper. Link ignored him and took his tray into the kitchen.

"Our morning special," hissed a cloak and hood person, "Is bacon and eggs, sausage, hash browns, and lemonade."

"Whatever," Link said, rolling his eyes. With a hiss, the man dropped the food on Link's tray.

Link walked over to Captain Falcon's table. "Can I sit here?" he asked.

"Not a problem, kid. Have a seat!" Said the good captain around his eggs. Link plopped down, only to roll his eyes and groan, "Dammit, I forgot to get some ketchup!" He left his tray at the table and went back to the kitchen.

During that time, Ness came dashing into the hall excitedly. "Captain, Captain, look, look!" He sat down at the table and presented to his mentor a glass of clear, yellow liquid with some odd, small square cubes floating in it.

"What've you got there, sonny?" Falcon asked, peering into the glass. But before Ness could answer, Link came storming back to the table. Mistaking Ness's glass for his, he seized it and chugged it in one gulp, ice and all. 

"Ahh, that's good lemonade!"

Ness began to cry.

"Hey, what's wrong, kid?" Falcon asked, patting him on the back.

"He…he… HE DRANK MY MR. SATURN EGGS!!!"

"Mr. Saturn eggs?" Link thought, and then vomited.

Link huffed his way down the courtyard towards his cabin. He had a battle in ten minutes, but he was so pissed off that he wasn't going to show. And he didn't eat breakfast due to that…._incident…_ so he was starving. "Gosh, I'm hungry," he moaned.

As if on cue, Pikachu came dashing up holding a banana. He gave Link the most adorable "Pi-KA-chu!" and tossed him the banana.

"Hey, you're all right, Pikachu!" Link said, petting the electric mouse, who dashed off again. 

Link closed his eyes as he began to eat the banana, and then he walked into something quite solid. He opened his eyes and saw brown fur. He stepped back, and gulped. A very angry Donkey Kong was glaring at him, arms crossed, tapping his foot.

Link began to feel some concern. "Uhh, here! I didn't eat much of it! Here!" He tossed the banana at DK, and it hit the ape in the face and fell slowly down his chest. DK glanced down at the banana, then locked eyes with Link again. "Uh oh…" Link whispered.

After a few hours, Link was able to move his limbs again. Zelda had found him and carried him back to the cabin. He had been laying in bed, paralyzed. Apparently, DK didn't take kindly to banana thieves.

"Uggggh, what time is it?" He moaned. He looked at his watch. "Hmm, 5:30. If I want to ask Zelda to dinner, I'd better get washed up."

He went into the bathroom, disrobed, and hopped in the shower.

"AIEEEEEEE!!!"

He tumbled out of the shower flat on his face, where he lay, crying and pounding the floor. "Why??? Why??" 

After he collected himself, he decided to go get Zelda some nice flowers to present to her along with the invitation to dinner. So, he went out of the cabin and headed towards the little garden by the fountain. Then he gasped. Donkey Kong was waiting for him outside his cabin! He turned to run, but DK grabbed him by the collar.

"Wh-what do you want? Haven't you hurt me enough???"

Surprisingly, DK smiled and grunted, "Friend."

Link breathed a sigh of relief.

"Garden?" DK asked.

Link nodded.

DK chuckled. "Lady!"

Link nodded again, grinning.

DK passed Link a capsule. "Flower."

"Inside, you mean?"

DK grunted.

Link smiled. "Ok, thanks, big guy!" They parted ways, then Link turned and said, "Hey, DK, when did you learn how to talk?"

DK gave a huge shrug.

That evening, Link had managed to get himself looking semi-respectable, and just in time too, for Zelda had just gotten back to the cabin.

"Oh, Zelda," Link called. She turned, her golden blonde hair spinning behind her.

"Yes, Link?" she said with a sweet smile.

"I was wondering, if, maybe tonight, ohh, I dunno… if you'd go to dinner with me?"

Zelda put her hand to her mouth. "Why Link, of course I would!"

"And, and and!!" Link brought out the capsule, "Look what I have for you!" He popped it open proudly.

Zelda shrieked.

"Huh?" Link said, and he screamed as well. The capsule had contained a Bob-Omb!! "Run!! Run!!" he wailed. But it was too late.

****************************

Popo and Nana sat on the roof of their cabin when the sky lit up.

"Ohh, big bang…" Popo mused.

"Mmm…" Agreed Nana.

****************************

Among the ashes, Link coughed out dust and sat up, and noticed Zelda glaring at him, covered in soot.

"So… we're still going out, right?" He ventured. She kicked him into the ash and turned on her heel.

"Hey, well excuuuuuse me, Princess!" And, since the beds had been destroyed, he fell asleep right there on top of the rubble. "Tomorrow," he vowed, "I'm starting the day off on the LEFT foot!!!"


	10. Dinner Date

****

CHAPTER 10: Dinner Date

Link trudged down the path from his cabin, depressed. Having blown his chance with Zelda, he didn't really feel like doing much of anything. It was a mighty effort just to feel like going down to breakfast that morning, which is what he was doing now.

Suddenly, a great shadow passed over him. He looked up, and his eyes darkened as he saw DK swinging from the branches above the courtyard. The ape dropped down in front of Link and grinned a monkey grin.

"Surprised?"

Link grabbed him by the neck. "That wasn't funny!"

DK laughed. "Sucker."

"What do you mean, 'sucker'?" asked an angry female voice. It was Zelda! She had been on her way back from breakfast and had heard the whole thing. "So last night was all YOUR fault?" she cried, "Take this!" She grabbed him, and using her magic powers, flung him all the way down the hill.

******************************

"Monkey can fly." Popo murmured.

"Mmm…" agreed Nana.

******************************

Zelda then turned to Link. "Link, I'm sorry… I thought you had been playing some kind of a sick joke. I shouldn't have gotten angry last night."

Link smiled. "So can we still have dinner tonight, then?"

"Of course! 6:00 good for you?"

"Any time is good for me, Princess! Except Wednesdays at 10:00."

"Why? What happens then?"

"South Park is on, of course."

Zelda rolled her eyes.

"Whoo, that was exhausting!" Link exclaimed as his battle with Mario wrapped up.

"Mamma-mia, that puts it mildly." Mario said, getting his towel. "That sword is pointy!"

"Well of course it is!" Link said proudly. "It's a sword! But not just any sword…the MASTER SWORD!!!" He grabbed if off the bench, held it over his head and began to hum the Zelda theme.

"Riiiiiight." Mario said.

"Hey did I tell you I have a date with Zelda tonight?" Link asked.

"Well, well, well!" Mario said. "Finally making your move, huh?"

"Yeah. I figure it's finally time."

"Yeah you'd know a lot about 'Time' wouldn't you?" Mario sneered, then coughed, "7 years! COUGH COUGH 7 years…"

"SHUT UP!" Link cried. Then, as if nothing happened, he continued. "So I was going to take her out for Italian food, and I was wondering if you could recommend any restaurants."

Mario's face grew angry. "Oh, I see how it is. Just-a because I'm-a Italiano, you think I know all the great restaurants! Is that it?"

"No, no, not at all, it's just that,"

"Let's all stereotype the Italian boy," Mario ranted, throwing his hands up in the air. "Why don't you just call me Tony and have me talk to the Godfather for crying out loud??!!"

Link put his hands up. "Mario, this is a big misunderstanding…"

"Oh no no no no, my friend! I see how it is! Well, let's see how you like it, elf boy! Soooo, how are those cookies coming? Shouldn't you be helping make fudge sandwich snacks in your pathetic little TREE? Or what about your buddy, Legolas? Shouldn't you be fighting for Middle-freakin-Earth? No?? Well then why aren't you up on Treasure Mountain, stealing treasure from the Super Solvers??? HUHHH??" Mario got right up in Link's face, huffing, beet red. After a few moments, however, he broke into a smile and cracked up. "I'm sorry! I couldn't resist!!!" He laughed harder, and had to steady himself on the bench.

"Mario, you spook me sometimes." Link said.

"Sorry, sorry," Mario said, collecting himself. "Now, what you want to do is go to Carpaccios. They have the finest spaghetti, mm! You could die! It's right there in the Lundellen system, on Route 28."

"Thanks, Mario. And here." Link passed him a business card. "Talk to Buddy Rydell. He's my anger management therapist. I'm sure he could help you out." (_I just HAD to throw that in. Kekekeke… **F.H.**_) And he left Mario standing in the locker room.

"Wow, this restaurant is so nice!" Zelda said, looking around. And it was true. There were crystal chandeliers on the ceilings, the floors were thickly carpeted in deep maroon, the light was provided by little lanterns that lined all the walls, and the food was, true to Mario's word, _Magnifico!_

"I thought you'd like it," said Link, who had dressed very nice, since it was a very special occasion. Zelda, too, had dressed quite nicely. She didn't want to say it, but she was hoping Link asked her out that night.

The waiter came to their table holding a bottle of wine. "Would this fine couple like to start off with a drink? I have here a very finely aged bottle from the Natzu orchards, imported all the way from the land of Holodrum.

Link rubbed his chin. "How old exactly is it?"

The waiter smiled. "From the beginning of the fourth age, sir."

"Well, that's not TOO old. May I?" The waiter nodded, and Link took a big sip of the wine, and then spit it out, sputtering. "Did you say the fourth age, or the third age???"

"I may have been mistaken, sir." The waiter said gently. "Would you like another selection?"

"Yes," Link said, catching Zelda's eyes and grinning, then looked back up at the waiter. "I'll have a vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred."

Zelda laughed, then said, "I'll have the same."

"Excellent choices." said the waiter, who left.

"Boy, oh boy," Link said with a grin, "The lady likes to drink!"

Zelda smiled. "I've been known to have a few."

"You know, Zelda, there's something I wanted to talk to you about."

"And what would that be, dear Link?"

"Well, you and I have known each other for quite a while, but all this time we've only been friends. I was wondering if, ya know, maybe…."

"I'd love to." Zelda said before he could finish.

Link fell quiet for a moment, then grinned and said, "Okay! Cool!"

Zelda laughed. "I've actually been waiting for you to ask me that for, like, EVER!"

"Really now?"

Zelda didn't answer, but leaned across the table and kissed him on the cheek.

"Aww, is that all I get?" 

Zelda whispered, "Later."

"Ahh…"

And so it came to be that the dinner date ended, and we join our new couple in front of their cabin.

"So, Princess," Link began, taking her hand, "What was I supposed to 'Wait till later' for?"

Their eyes locked. "This," Zelda whispered, and she put her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips, softly at first, brushing her lips across his. Their lips brushed again, and then locked as the kiss became more passionate, more deep, more intense. Their hold on each other tightened, and Link slowly ran his hands down her back, while Zelda caressed the back of his neck. The kiss didn't break for about five straight minutes.

**********************

"(sigh) Lovebirds…" Nana sighed.

"I got an idea," Popo whispered, grinning and nudging her.

Nana laughed. "Oooh, my mountain man!" she said, planting one on him.

***********************

After they finally stopped kissing, Zelda put her arms around Link and said, "Link, I was thinking… we kind of like, just started going out tonight, and I don't think we should… you know… sleep together yet."

"I understand, Zelda." Link said, softly. "That's why Mr. Handey gave us two beds in the first place. But I can still dream." he said this last with a grin.

Zelda smiled. "Well, don't dream too loudly… you'll wake me up."

Link made a face. "Eww, Princess!"

Zelda laughed. "Come on, let's get some sleep."

"Okay."

And so it came to be that another couple was formed in Battlefield City.

(_Here's a new feature I added. **F.H.**)_

****

COMING UP NEXT…

__

Link and Zelda are Battlefield City's newest hot couple, but will it last? Be on your guard, Link, for a third party seeks to enter the picture, and he'd love to show Zelda his moves.


	11. The Captain Shows Interest

****

CHAPTER 11: The Captain Shows Interest

It was 4:30 and time for Zelda's battle against Captain Falcon. He was already in the stone room when she got there, warming up.

"Oh, hello, your highness," he said as he stretched. "Just… prepping up for our match."

Zelda wasn't really interested in Falcon, but she couldn't help but notice that he had incredible muscles, which were very visible while he stretched. He also had his helmet off, which took away that "Hardcore Racing Dude" look, and to tell the truth, she found herself staring a bit.

"Everything all right?" he asked, noticing.

She snapped out of it. "Yes! Yes, I'm just going to get changed into my fighting clothes." She quickly excused herself to the ladies room.

_I think she was staring at me,_ Captain Falcon thought as he did his arm stretches. _That doesn't surprise me. The ladies love to look at me all the time. And why shouldn't they?_ He flexed his arm, bringing up his biceps. _There's a lot to see._ He smiled to himself. Then he thought, _Hello, what have we here?_ Zelda had emerged from the bathroom in her loose-fitting fighting outfit, which complimented her figure quite nicely.

"Well, well, Princess," the captain said, smiling, "I doubt if I'll be able to keep my mind on the battle if you're going to dress like that."

"What, you think I'd actually fight in all my royal clothes?" Zelda said with a laugh, "I'd die of overheat! Now then, where are we going?"

Falcon scratched his head. "I don't know… you decide."

Zelda looked at the chart. "How about Green Greens?"

"Sounds like a plan." He typed the code onto the keypad next to the chart, and in a dazzling flash of light, they were standing in Green Greens, a beautiful meadow lush with flowers, bordered on either side by block towers, and Whispy Woods residing in the forest. Zelda and Falcon took ten paces in opposite directions, then turned and faced each other.

"Ready?" Falcon asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be!" Zelda answered.

Falcon immediately rushed in with a Falcon kick, but Zelda was quick, and she teleported away behind him, and zapped him with her magic powers. He reeled, and gave her a smash attack. She recovered quickly, grabbed him, zapped him twice, and threw him into the block towers, which exploded and sent him flying for the first out.

"So…" he sneered as he arrived back on the scene, "The princess is strong!" He jumped down from the recovery platform by doing a drop-Falcon kick, which struck her in the chest. As he fell from above, Zelda twirled her finger in the air in a dazzling array of sparks, shocking him to the floor.

He stood up, looked at her, smiled, and said, "You know, I admire strong women." 

She went to slap him, but he ducked and took a few steps back. "I like beautiful women too." She advanced on him menacingly. "Wouldn't it be great," he continued, rolling-dodging behind her, "If there was a woman that was both strong and beautiful? And better yet, if that woman would find herself taken with a dashing, debonair racing captain?" He hoped Zelda would take the hint. It was true that he had found her strikingly beautiful from the get-go. And Captain Falcon was famous for, how you say, "getting with" many beautiful women that caught his fancy. Several of these women would hang out at the race track.

"If you're trying to pick me up," Zelda growled, advancing, her hands glowing, "You're definitely knocking on the wrong door. I'm taken." She raised her hands, preparing to blast him.

"By who, the elf kid?" He inched closer. "Forget him, doll! I'll treat you right. I'm sayin, you and me, see what I'm getting at?" He took her hand.

"Get off!" She shouted, yanking her hand away, then she focused all her magic power and blasted him clear off the field. "This match is over!" She punched the abort button, and in a flash the stone room was back, and it was in this room that Captain Falcon came crashing down hard. Zelda gathered her bag and was off.

_Well, that won't do._ Captain Falcon thought to himself. _"I'll have to be more encouraging next time. NOBODY rejects Captain Falcon."_

Zelda stormed up the path to her cabin when she noticed one of the cloak-and-hood folk drifting across the courtyard.

"Excuse me!" she called, dashing over. "Excuse me!"

"What is it?" the creature rasped in a throaty voice.

"Um, can you just tell Mr. Handey not to schedule any more fights with me against Captain F*ckin, I mean, Falcon?"

The figure hissed. "I will inform him."

"Thank you," Zelda said, and, anxious to be gone from the figure's presence, dashed off to her cabin.

*****************************

Popo busily scribbled on a scrap of paper.

"What is it, Popo?" Nana asked.

"Triangle," Popo muttered.

"Triangle?"

"Yes."

Nana scratched her head. "That make no sense, Popo!"

Then Popo showed her the scrap of paper. On it was drawn a huge triangle, at one point of which sat a pointy, green hat, at the second point sat a crown, and at the third sat a helmet.

"Ohhhhhh!" Nana whispered.

******************************

****

COMING UP NEXT:

__

Having quite recovered from her illness, Jigglypuff agrees to compete in the Smash Bros. Tournament. However, Dr. Mario forgot to caution the contestants about one thing: Her powers may cause drowsiness!


	12. JIGGLY!

****

CHAPTER 12: Jiggly!!!!!

"Pikachu? Oh Pikachu?" said a musical voice.

"Yes, Jigglypuff?" said Pikachu, stirring from his rug on the ground as the sun peeked through the window. "What time is it?"

"It's time for your fight!" Jigglypuff said excitedly. "And I want to watch! Come on, get up, get up!!!" She began shoving him, and finally he rose to his feet and yawned.

"Hey, how come you don't shock her when she wakes you up early?" Kirby complained, walking out of the bathroom.

"Because I'm cute and cuddly!" Jigglypuff cut in, rolling in a circle on the floor. "Oh, Kirby! Where'd you get that cute hair?" 

Kirby ran his hand through his new hair curl. "I did my hair this morning," he answered stoutly, but then turned around, ducked, and it was gone.

"Kirby freaks me out a little," Yoshi whispered to Pikachu, who nodded.

"Come on, Peeky, get dressed, get dressed!" Jigglypuff squealed, "For the time to fight is nigh!"

"Jigglypuff, I don't wear any clothes!" Pikachu cried in exasperation.

Jigglypuff gasped. "Ooooooh such a scandal!!"

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Can we just go down to breakfast, _please?_"

"Yeah of course!" Yoshi said. "I'm so hungry I could eat a whole Shyguy! Or even a Snifit!"

"Well let's be off then." Kirby said, and he jumped on a warp star. "Meet ya there, suckers!" He cackled as he sped off.

"PUFF! Not fair!" Jigglypuff whined.

"Well we won't get there any faster by whining," Pikachu said. "Now let's go."

As they walked through the large doors to the dining hall, a cloak and hood person appeared from behind the door and hissed, "The puff must come with me."

"Uhhh, which puff?" Kirby asked, turning around.

"The pink one." the person replied.

"Uhh, again, not helping." Kirby said.

"Oh for cryin' out loud," The cloak and hooder grabbed Jigglypuff and carried her off.

"Noooo! Stop! Put me down!!! HELP! Pikachu, don't leave me! Help me please! Put me down or I'll draw on your face with a marker!!! HEELLLP!!" Her cries died off as she disappeared over the hill.

"Hey, we should go look for her!" Yoshi cried.

Pikachu didn't have to think twice before agreeing. Although he couldn't admit it, he sort of liked Jigglypuff. You're right. Come on!"

_(PPL, don't be alarmed!! There's not going to be **ANY** R or NC-17 content between "creatures," meaning Yoshi, Kirby, Pikachu, etc… Just wanted to let you know before you started freakin out. ^_^ **F.H.**)_

They ran into the dining hall and started yelling at the top of their lungs. Of course, nobody could understand them at all.

"This is hopeless!" Pikachu groaned. "They'll never understand us!"

At the far table, Ness whispered something hurriedly to Captain Falcon, who nodded. Ness jumped down from the table and walked forward.

"What is he doing?" Mario whispered to Link.

"I don't know…" Link whispered back.

Ness bowed to Pikachu, then placed his hand on Pikachu's head and began to glow.

Fox snapped his fingers. "Of course! In our battles, Ness uses psychic energy! He must be reading Pikachu's mind!"

"Well, who made you so smart?" Samus said, noogie-ing him.

Finally, Ness stopped glowing and looked up. "They have taken his friend captive!" Ness cried. "A cloak and hood folk took her! He wants us to help him!"

This gave rise to murmurs of confusion. "They work for Mr. Handey, don't they? "I never thought they were bad people." "Maybe she'll be all right!" "I don't know, maybe not…"

Finally, Mario said, "Well, let's go help Jigglypuff!" And everybody agreed, and they formed an army and marched towards the headquarters. They lit torches and picked up pitchforks and chanted, "Save the puff! Enough is enough! Save the puff!! Enough is enough!"

Just as they picked up a log and were ready to ram down the door, it opened, and who should walk out but Jigglypuff!!

They stopped short, dazed and confused.

"What happened, Jigglypuff?" Pikachu asked. "Tell us! Well, you can tell me, but they wont…"

Jigglypuff interrupted him by picking up a bright red microphone, and spoke into it in perfect English, "It's okay, everyone!!! I'm ok!"

Everybody gasped. "She's talking! OMG She's talking!"

"How are you able to talk?" Pikachu asked in amazement.

"It's this microphone," Jigglypuff replied. "Mr. Handey's assistants gave it to me. They said it would be important for my battles."

"Battles???" Everyone asked.

"Oh I forgot to tell you…" She waved a yellow ticket in front of her. "I've been accepted into the tournament! I was lucky, too. A lot of people didn't make it through."

"What went on in there?" Peach asked.

"Well, I sat in line, and one by one they asked people into a small room where they would demonstrate their fighting skills. And then, the judges would tell them how good they did. But the one judge was really horrible… I think is name was Dan… he kept saying things like, 'You can't fight. That's all there is to it.' and, 'That's like a form of fighting I've never seen anywhere on earth!' and, 'You are quite possibly the worst fighter I've seen in my entire life!' I think I was the only one to make it." Suddenly, she looked around at the torch-holding, pitchfork-waving crowd and said, "What are you guys all doing, anyway?"

Everybody looked at each other nervously, and then Pikachu stepped forward and took the microphone. "Uhh, uh, we've come to… congratulate you! Yes, that's it. Yeah. We knew that they were going to test you, and we knew you'd win, so we came here in advacne! Isn't that right, guys?"

Everybody took the hint and nodded vigorously.

"And we made you a special celebration!" He took out the cooler of Coke that they had dragged along, because being under those torches made you sweat sometimes. "Cokes for everyone!!!"

Everyone cheered and popped the Cokes open.

"For you, my lady," Pikachu said, bowing and handing Jigglypuff her Coke. "In honor of your entry into the tournament!"

Jigglypuff got all teary-eyed. "Ohhh Pikachu! You did all this for me??? You're sweet!" She pecked him on the cheek. Pikachu got a big "Charlie Brown" smile on his face and fell over, hearts circling around his head.

Jigglypuff jumped up on the cooler. "I'd like to sing a song to thank you all!" She declared. Everybody clapped. She began to sing. It was a lovely song, the notes flowing together wonderfully, and her voice was directly on key. She sang with such passion that it's a shame nobody was awake at the end of the song.

Her eyes darkened. "They fell asleep during my victory song??? Grrr….PUFF!!!" She seized her marker.

That night, everyone trudged back to their cabins to try to scrub the funny faces off the backs of their heads.

"I hope this isn't permanent," Samus groaned.

"Hey Princess," said Falcon, running over to Zelda. "I'll wash you up if you want!"

She slapped him.

"At least she's a good singer," Peach said.

"Very." DK grunted.

Back in Pikachu's cabin, Yoshi and Kirby were furiously scrubbing the backs of their heads.

"Hey guys when you're done can you help me?" Pikachu called. Yoshi came out from the bathroom and said, "I don't know, Pikachu. You might want to leave yours alone. I think she put special care into that one."

"What are you talking about?'

"I don't know," Yoshi said, rubbing his chin and smiling. "I just have a hunch."

Written on the back of Pikachu's head, in careful cursive writing was, **"Q T Pie."**

**__**

COMING UP NEXT

Donkey Kong confronts some inner demons.


	13. An Old Flame From An Old Game

**Chapter 13**

_An Old Flame from an Old Game_

**A/N: **_Welcome back everybody! After a long hiatus, 101 Stories About SSBM has returned! We're not missing a beat, and picking up right where we left off! For those who have remained faithful in waiting, THANK YOU! Now, let's get happening._

The sun dawned the following morning much as it had done all prior mornings, and just as in all those prior mornings, Donkey Kong opened his tiny primate eyes as soon as the sun fell on them.

'_Time for another great day!'_ he thought to himself, launching himself into a standing position by thrusting his feet forward. He had pretty much decided that he was happy here in Battlefield City; it gave him something to do and he didn't feel like such an outsider, like he usually did. Plus, it gave him more time to beat on Mario, which was always a bonus.

'_Bummer, I have to fight that racing guy today,'_ DK grumbled to himself as he checked his schedule. '_I hate him. Now, which tie should I wear?' _he mused as he opened the small closet to reveal a dozen identical red neckties, each with the yellow letters 'DK' on them. '_Tough choice…'_

When Donkey Kong had finally selected a tie and had groomed himself, he flung open his cabin door and breathed the fresh morning air. He slowly ambled down the steps and towards the main grounds. Along the way, he passed none other than Captain Falcon, who was playing ball with Ness.

"Hey, big man!" Falcon said with a wave as DK passed him, "I hear we're matched up today! Better practice up!"

Donkey Kong made a gesture that his gorilla friends would interpret as, 'may a monkey eat your wife,' and then continued on his way.

He was stopped a few dozen yards from the dining hall by Yoshi, who looked irate.

"Hey, DK," Yoshi said with annoyance in his voice, "Have you seen Pikachu and Kirby?"

Donkey Kong shook his head.

"Well if you see them, tell them they're time is limited."

Donkey Kong cocked his head to the side and grunted, "Bad?"

"Yeah, you could say that. They put my hand in a glass of warm water while I was sleeping."

Donkey Kong laughed.

"It's not funny, dude," Yoshi said, "Now I have to explain to the housekeeper that I pissed my bed." He sighed and said, "Anyway, tell them what I said." And he walked away.

Donkey Kong continued into the dining hall, and waved at Mario as he passed him.

"Hey there, big guy!" Mario said, waving back. "Don't choke in your fight today!"

Donkey Kong entered the cafeteria.

"What will it be?" asked a cloaked figure. "The usual?" Donkey Kong grunted affirmatively, and the figure poured him a big bowl of Kelloggs Banana Crunch.

He sat down at an empty table, and then realized he had forgotten to get a spoon. He considered just tipping the bowl into his mouth, but then shook his head. His species _invented_ using tools, and he must follow their ways. It was a matter of principle.

After getting his spoon, he sat there and ate, looking around at the others as they had their breakfast. Donkey Kong considered himself to be well-adjusted; his days of savage barbarism were long since past. There was always a feeling of awkwardness, though, from living a life similar to humans. He was born to run wild in the jungle, and he missed those days. As he took another spoonful, he wondered how his son and Diddy were doing. Cranky was supposed to look after them while he was away, but Donkey Kong didn't trust him all that much, especially with youngsters.

All at once, the dining hall door was flung open, and a gorgeous woman ran in. She was about five foot ten, she had blonde hair and wore a red dress. She ran immediately to Mario.

"Mario!" she cried in a silky voice. "Hi!"

Mario had to do a double take before he recognized the woman. "It can't be… Pauline?"

"Yes, it's me!" she said, as she threw her arms around him. "God, how long has it been?"

Mario was quite taken aback by this sudden arrival. He and Pauline had not seen each other for over 25 years. "How… how did you know I was here?"

"I've been staying in an apartment in Aldaria, and I got word of some big tournament going on here!" she gushed. "I just _knew_ you'd be here! I just knew it!"

Mario was suddenly tapped on the shoulder. He turned to see Peach standing behind him, looking quizzical and demanding. "Mario… who is this?"

Mario did his best to hide the awkwardness. "Um… Peach, this is Pauline. She's an old friend of mine."

"Old friend!" Pauline jeered. "Talk about understating the fact!" She took off Mario's hat and tussled his hair.

Peach glared at Pauline. "Well… I'll let you two 'catch up.'" And she stalked away.

"Aww, she's sweet. She's jealous of us, Marry!" Pauline giggled.

Mario scratched the back of his neck, blushing as he heard Pauline's pet name for him after so long. "See, Pauline, the thing of it is…"

But before he could say any more, Pauline had spotted Donkey Kong, who was standing across the room, gaping at her with eyes bulging.

"Oh God…" she whispered. "It's… it's HIM!" She leapt into Mario's arms. "Don't let him get me again! Don't let him get me!" she shrieked.

Donkey Kong's mind was in utter turmoil. Here, he had thought that everything was getting better for him, that he had forgotten his past. But… it was that girl! That very same girl who so many years ago drove him mad with barbaric lust!

He clamped his hand to his head and tried to look away. He grunted, struggling to think rationally. Images began flashing in his mind: the Empire Building; barrels, millions of barrels! Wait… he was safe from Mario here, wasn't he? He'd dare not attack him here! He could take the girl back! He could do it all again, the _right _way! YES!

When Donkey Kong opened his eyes, there was a look in them that Mario wished he would never see again.

"Calm down, big man," Mario said, moving in front of Pauline. "Just take it easy… relax… WHOA!" He cried out in surprise as Donkey Kong slapped him aside, grabbed Pauline, threw her on his back, and bounded out of the room.

Mario swore. Not just once, either. Many, many times. And the bad words, too. Then he got to his feet and bolted after the big ape.

Upon exiting the dining hall, he rammed head-on into Link.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, man, what's your problem?" Link asked, fixing his hat.

"No time to talk!" Mario said. "It's 1980 all over again!" He scanned the compound and swore again. Donkey Kong was carrying Pauline up to the roof of the main battle dome… where the torch was burning. He ran towards it as fast as he could.

"What's going on here?" rasped a cloak-and-hood person, sweeping out from the administration building.

"The monkey's got a girl," Link replied. "I think Mario is going to need help."

The cloak and hood person focused his gaze on Donkey Kong and saw what he was doing. "This is unacceptable," he whispered. He turned back to the doorway and hissed something, and four other of his kind swept out and began moving towards the battle dome.

Mario, meanwhile, was beginning to climb up the battle dome, the roof of which was designed very much like a round ball of little stairs.

"Mario, be careful!" Peach called up to him from where she stood on the ground nearby. Several of the others had come to see what happened.

"25 feet," Popo murmured, watching from the roof of his bunk.

"How high can you go?" Nana wondered.

"Back!" Donkey Kong growled at Mario, and he proceeded to rip off little chunks of the roof and toss them down at him. He was working his way to the center of the roof, closer and closer to the large flame of the torch.

"Put her down, Donkey Kong!" Mario warned, dodging the debris. "I know it's been a long time, but I will not hesitate to beat the spaghetti out of you!"

DK made a mock-inquisitive "oh really?" sound, and then ambled over to the torch and held Pauline above it.

"Oh God! Oh God!" Pauline wailed. "Mario, get back or he'll do it! Save yourself, there's no girders to fall on this time!"

"I'm… not… leaving you!" Mario roared, and he vaulted himself up onto the flat part of the roof, and jump kicked Donkey Kong to the ground. At the apex of the jump, he grabbed Pauline from DK's arm and set her on the floor. "Wait here," he said with a smile.

He then proceeded to walk over to Donkey Kong and start kicking him. "What's the matter? What's the matter? You can't put your big apish libido to rest after 25 years?"

Donkey Kong reached up and seized Mario by the throat. He stood up and glared into the plumber's eyes, tightening his grip. "Die…" he grunted, but then he let go and wailed in pain.

"You first," Pauline sneered, and she removed the piece of the roof she had stabbed DK in the shoulder with.

DK grabbed his shoulder and began to cry. He fell on his stomach and bawled, rocking back and forth. Mario ran to Pauline and embraced her, and out of impulse, kissed her.

Just then, the cloak-and-hood folk arrived on the roof. "We've come to arrest the troublemaker," they said.

"No, it's okay," Mario said, kneeling down and patting DK on the head. "I think we knocked some sense into him. He'll be all right."

The cloak-and-hood figure hissed menacingly. "I'm taking your word. Just know that any more infractions, and you're both out."

"Don't worry, sir." Mario said with an awkward salute.

"Good." They replied, and then the five of them began to walk off the roof in separate directions, and Mario gasped. Having torn off so many pieces of the roof, the support bolts were visible… and the hooded men were about to walk over each one of them.

Mario held tight to Pauline and Donkey Kong. "I suppose the day just wouldn't be complete," he said.

**Coming up in chapter 14: A brotha arrives on the scene, y'all!**


	14. Discretion is the Better Part of Valor

**Chapter 14**

_Discretion is the Better Part of Valor_

The next day dawned grey and overcast over Battlefield City: long, low stratus clouds blanketed the sky as far as the eye could see. Because of this, the general demeanor of the combatants was somewhat lessened, as can happen with depressing weather conditions.

Ness was still in bed when the start-of-day horn blew. Captain Falcon walked into the room, combing his jet-black hair before putting on his helmet. "Come on, son, up and at 'em!" he said as he admired himself in the mirror.

"I'm not goin'," Ness mumbled.

"Why the heck not?" Falcon asked, surprised. "You're fighting against Pikachu and Kirby today. Everyone knows you can kick their rears!"

"It's too icky out," Ness replied, turning over. "Besides, I can't find my bat."

Falcon blinked, and looked around the room to find that Ness's Cracked Bat was in the same corner it always was, leaning up against the wall.

"What's the matter, kid?" Falcon asked, kneeling down by the bed. "Don't feel like fighting today?"

"No!" Ness whined. "Mario gave me a black eye yesterday, and Yoshi pooped me out over a ledge."

Falcon chuckled. "Well that wasn't very nice of them. But after all, it all goes away after you fall off the stage."

"I just want to go home," Ness said. "I miss my friends."

Falcon patted Ness on the head. "Come on, kid, we all have to do our part. I'm sure your friends would be proud of you. And besides, we'll soon be gone."

Ness sat up and rubbed his eyes. "I wonder how Paula is doing…"

"Oh? Who is that?" Falcon asked as he fit his helmet over his head.

Ness blushed and looked aside. "A friend of mine. I…" he fell silent, unable to finish his sentence.

"It's all right, son," Falcon said, turning to Ness. "Now come on, show me your moves! We have to get out there and do our very best!"

"Yeah…" Ness said quietly, but he couldn't help but be uplifted by Falcon's exuberance. "Yeah! Let's kick their butts!" He sprang out of bed on a trail of psychic energy.

Pikachu and Jigglypuff were walking towards the breakfast hall together. Jigglypuff had opted to wear her green headband, while Pikachu had donned Ash's hat, or at least a replica that Ash had bought for him.

"Pikachu," Jigglypuff said in a sing-song voice, "I like that hat."

"Thanks," Pikachu answered, wiggling one of his ears. "Your headband is nice."

"I'm glad you think so," Jigglypuff swooned, twirling around, causing the ends of the accessory to make little trails behind her. "I wore it for you."

Pikachu turned a slight shade of scarlet. "Um… cool." He picked up a bit of speed, but Jigglypuff caught up with him in a flash.

"Pikachu, if we get paired up to fight, would you let me win because I'm a girl?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Pikachu said with a slight snort. "I'd bring it."

"Oh really? So you'd bring the shizzle?"

Pikachu rolled his eyes. "Yes. I'd trizzle the shizzle all over the hizzle, okay?"

Jigglypuff snarled and leapt on him, pinning him down and headbutting him from above. "Bring the shizzle then!" she continually shrieked. "Bring the shizzle! Bring it!" Releasing Pikachu from her grip, she watched as he took off at lightning speed over the hill. "He's as good as mine," she said with a smile.

Popo and Nana were walking towards the breakfast hall when Popo stopped and cocked his head.

"I hear something," he murmured.

"What do you hear?" Nana asked quietly from his side.

"An animal," Popo replied. "Come." He ran off towards the source of the noise, Nana invariably at his side.

They eventually stopped in front of Bowser's bunk. "In here," Popo said.

"Hey guys," said Samus, who was leaving her nearby bunk and was clad in armor but no helmet. "Is everything okay?"

"Bowser in trouble, maybe," Nana said with anxiety. She and Popo hopped up to the door and took their hammers to it. Samus came up and helped them by wrenching it open.

The sight they beheld when they looked inside was a sorry one: Bowser was lying in the center of his bunk on his back, moaning miserably, and was a whole shade paler than he normally was.

"Oh my gosh," Samus said, dashing into the room. "Bowser! Are you okay?"

Bowser opened his eyes, which were bloodshot. "Kill me," he grunted, and then squeezed his eyes shut again. He was evidently in great pain.

"What's happened?" Nana asked.

"He's pretty sick," Samus observed, putting a hand on Bowser's skin. "He's a little chilly too. I wonder…"

They were interrupted by Fox, who found them there. "Hey sugar, did you see the… oh my God," he said as he saw Bowser. "What happened to this guy?"

"I don't know," Samus replied. "He's got some sort of illness. I don't know what to do."

Fox thought for a moment, then said, "We should go see Mario. He's been through a lot of confrontations with this guy."

"Good thinking," Samus agreed. She turned to the Ice Climbers. "You guys stay here with him until we get back, okay?"

Popo and Nana nodded their consent, and Fox and Samus ran off to find Mario.

They finally found him in the dining hall, talking to Peach and munching on a bacon, egg, and cheese on a bagel.

Fox dashed up to Mario and tapped him on the shoulder. "Um… Mario, we have a problem."

Mario quickly looked up and put the sandwich down. "What's wrong?"

"It's Bowser," Samus said with urgency. "He's very sick, he needs help!"

For several seconds, Mario's features were unreadable; finally he said, "What exactly is wrong with him?"

"I don't know," Samus replied. "We found him in state on the floor, he's pale and sickly-looking."

Princess Peach, who was sitting nearby, couldn't help but put her hand to her cheek in genuine concern.

After several more moments, Mario shrugged and said, "Take him to the infirmary then," and turned back to his food.

"Don't you even care?" Fox asked.

Mario looked up for a moment, then said, "No, I don't."

"Mario!" Peach said, aghast.

"What?" he snapped, looking up at her. "Why should I care? Why should _you_ care? He's done nothing but make our lives miserable this whole time."

"But you want to be a nice person, don't you?" Peach fumed. "You want to be thought of as a kind, caring individual, as you've tried to make me believe for 20 years?"

Fox and Samus were silent, watching the argument.

"Yes, I do," Mario said, "But in this circumstance,"

"But nothing! If you truly were a compassionate person, you'd have learned one of the most important lessons in life!"

Mario rolled his eyes. "Which is what? 'Keep your mortal nemesis alive?'"

"No, Mario. That discretion is the better part of valor. You'd know that letting Bowser suffer and die while there's still work left for him in this world is the wrong thing to do."

Mario gave a mighty sigh, rubbed his hand over his face, then roared, "All right, all right! Let's go have a look at the fat turtle!" and he got up and stomped from the room, with Fox, Samus, and Peach behind him.

"Hello, Bowser," Mario said coldly as he walked into the bunk.

Bowser opened an eye and observed Mario with it. "Way to make me feel better," he grunted to Fox.

"Not doing so good," Popo muttered, looking up at Samus.

Mario walked over to Bowser and pried open one of his eyes and looked into it. Then he took Bowser's pulse, which for the Koopas is found in the tip of the tail. Finally, he said, "Well, I'm not Dr. Mario, but I've seen this before. It's a virus that thrives in the caves of the Mushroom Kingdom."  
"What's it called?" Fox asked.

"_Fungus Amungus_," Mario replied. "He's probably had it for a while. It acts up in intermittent spurts."

"Now that I think about it, there was a time during the third time he captured me when he was bedridden for days." Peach said. "It was probably this."

"Is it deadly?" Nana asked.

"It can be," Mario said with a nod. "There are vegetables in the Mushroom Kingdom that help treat it, so he's probably survived with it up until now. But now, I don't know what we're going to do…"

"There's no way we can get the vegetables?" Samus asked, scratching her head.

"They have to be specially grown," Mario answered. "And the only person I know who can grow them is my brother, Luigi."

"But isn't he living in Subcon now?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, and therein lies the problem," Mario grumbled. "As far as I can remember, the only way to get there is through that cave we found, but I have no idea how to get there from here. I remember this funny tree on the way… it forked halfway up and then merged back together."

Popo ran up to Mario and pulled on his pants leg. "I know that tree! I saw it! When I climbed up to the roof of the stadium, to see if I could do it, I saw on the horizon that tree!"

Peach and Mario looked at each other, wide-eyed. "You mean that Subcon is no more than a few miles away from Battlefield City!" Mario asked.

"If it is the same tree, then yes." Popo said.

"Well then there's no time to lose!" Mario cried, and he bolted out the door towards the stadium, Peach hot on his heels.

After they passed the Stadium, the terrain began shifting from short grass and bushes to more brown land and rocks. Finally, they saw the tree in the distance.

"There it is," Mario said, huffing and puffing. Peach wasn't as out of breath as Mario, since she was able to make use of her floating ability intermittently.

At length, they skidded to a halt at the foot of the tree. "Okay," Mario said, looking around, "Any of this look familiar?"

Peach scanned the landscape. Finally she said, "Let's look over by that boulder. I have a vague recollection."

They walked over to the large grey rock and examined it. Mario slid his finger along the edge. "It feels like there's space behind here," he said. He and Peach leaned up against the left side of the rock and pushed with all their might, and it rolled to the side, revealing a cave.

"Can it be?" Mario whispered, looking inside. A long stairway extended up, seemingly past the ceiling of the cave. Clasping hands, they walked its length, and opened the door at the end.

Before they knew what was happening, they were falling, landing with a thud on a green hill.

"Man, oh man," Mario said, standing and dusting himself off, "This sure takes me back."

"I got mud on my dress," Peach complained, standing up and swatting at the mark. Giving up at length, she said, "So where's Luigi?"

"In his last letter, he told me that he was staying in a little house by the big waterfall, where those falling logs are. We should head over there."

And so, as they once did in elder times, Peach and Mario set off across the hilly and lush landscape of Subcon, passing by Shyguys, Tweeters, and other native creatures.

"Do you think the extra life mushroom is still here?" Mario wondered out loud.

"I wouldn't think so," Peach said. "Besides, you don't operate on lives anymore." After walking for a bit, she said, "Just out of curiosity, what would happen when you lost a life?"

Mario shrugged. "Nothing, really. I would hear a small pop, and then I'd suddenly be further back on the path. I learned to take it in stride. It was when I lost all of them that was weird. Then, I would just kind of fall asleep, sometimes for what felt like days."

"Odd," Peach said.

Finally, they heard the rushing of the massive waterfall that marked the halfway point of the first country of Subcon. They walked up to it and saw off to the side a mailbox stuck in the ground, and a sign that said, "Residence of Luigi Mario. Please let yourself in."

"There's no door!" Peach exclaimed.

Mario scratched his head, then snapped his fingers. "Of course!" he said. He scanned the ground nearby, and saw several red plant tufts sticking up. He picked one out, and found a red, bubbling potion. He dropped in on the ground behind the mailbox, causing a large, red oak door to appear, and upon this, he knocked.

"It's not locked," came a voice from the other side.

Mario pushed it open and entered upon a small room with bare floors, a couch against the wall looking at a TV, some small pieces of artwork on the walls, and a ceiling fan light fixture spinning slowly. The TV was on, tuned to some kind of documentary about opera (hosted by Phanto!), but Luigi was nowhere in sight.

"Hello?" Peach called, walking in behind Mario. "Luigi?"

"Do my ears deceive me?" said the voice again, and Luigi came walking in from an adjoining room. He was taller than Mario, wearing green clothes with blue overalls. He had brown hair and a black mustache, and a green plumbers hat with an L on it.

"Princess! Mario!" he cried upon entering, and he ran to the visitors and hugged each one in turn. "It's so good to see you! Gosh, it's been so long! I thought you'd only be here to visit on the holidays."

"Well, surprise surprise!" Mario said, spreading his arms. "It is good to see you, Luigi."

"Likewise," said the Princess, smiling warmly. She would never tell Mario this, but she was the slightest bit taken with Luigi.

Luigi's focus immediately fell to the apartment and he began hastily moving things around. "Come in and sit down. I'm sorry, this place is such a dump."

"Actually we didn't come just to visit," Mario said uneasily.

"Really?" Luigi asked, looking up. "What's up then?"

"Have you still been growing the silicus vegetables?"

Luigi chuckled. "That's what you came here to ask me? What for?"

Mario shifted his weight. "It's… for Bowser. He's got _fungus amungus_, and the vegetables don't grow where we're staying."

"Let me get this straight," Luigi said, putting his hands forward, "You want to _help_ Bowser?"

"It's a _very_ long story, bro," Mario said. "But I've finally decided it's the right thing to do, and I think you should trust me."

Luigi sighed. "Well, if you really think so, then follow me." He beckoned them through the adjoining rooms and out to a small backyard, where there was a brown rectangle of dirt with green tufts sticking up out of it.

"This is just a small crop I've been tending to," Luigi said as they walked up to it. "Once I find a bigger place, I can plant more."

Mario plucked one of the pale green vegetables and sniffed it. "These are really well grown," he complimented. "You still have it."

Luigi smiled and kicked the ground.

"There's enough here to cure Bowser," Peach said, bending down. "But I don't know what we'll do if he comes down with it again during the tournament…"

"Tournament?" Luigi asked, looking up. "What tournament?"

"Oh… it's this fighting tournament Peach and I are in," Mario said, choosing his words carefully. "It's really no big deal."

"Oh… I see," Luigi muttered, looking away. "And, you didn't ask me to come along?"

Peach's face softened. "Luigi, it wasn't really our choice…"

"No, no, I understand," Luigi interrupted. "Belive me, I do. It's always been like this. Always the second fiddle, always the backup man…" He fell to muttering incomprehensible things under his breath. Then he looked up and gazed over his vegetable patch. "Gee, there's not a lot of these things here… I doubt I can spare any…"

Mario rolled his eyes and sighed. "Look, if you really want, we can take you back with us and ask them to let you in."

"You would do that?" Luigi asked.

"Yes, we'll make that effort," Mario replied. "But whether they accept you or not, we need those veggies. And hey, I'm sure that if you're allowed to stay, they'll give you the biggest vegetable patch you could ask for."

Luigi rubbed his chin, then said, "All right, it's a deal. Now, get some gloves on and we'll harvest these babies."

A short while later, with a basketful of vegetables in tow, the now trio of heroes sprinted across the outskirts of Battlefield City towards the compound.

"Wow, is this where you guys are staying?" Luigi marvled.

"Yes," Peach replied.

"The stadium is as big as your castle, Princess!" Luigi observed.

"But I bet not half as expensive!" Peach said haughtily.

At great length, they arrived back on the main grounds, and wasted no time getting to Bowser's bunk.

"Out of the way!" Mario shouted as he burst in. Popo, Nana, and Yoshi, who had been sitting with Bowser, quickly moved aside, but not before making a happy noise upon seeing Luigi.

Luigi approached Bowser, and said, "Open wide, big fella."

Barely conscious, it was all Bowser could do to force open his huge jaws. Luigi dumped the entire basket of vegetables into Bowser's mouth, and stood back.

For several moments, Bowser was still. Then, a low growl began in Bowser's throat, growing louder until he leapt forward onto his feet and roared, shaking the walls of the whole cabin.

"How do you feel, Bowser?" Mario asked softly.

Bowser looked around and blinked a few times before settling his gaze on Mario. He proceeded to pick the plumber up in his claws.

"Bowser," Peach began warningly.

But she had nothing to fear, because Bowser then noogied Mario massively and laughed. "I could learn a thing or two from this guy!" he cackled. "What can I say to you?"

"You can put me down to start," Mario said, squirming.

"Of course." Bowser released Mario, then laughed again. "I tell you what: I'll give you one 'Get Back Princess Free' coupon. How does that sound?"

"That's our Bowser," Luigi said, and everyone in the room had a good laugh.

Their merry time was interrupted by the entering of a hooded figure. "What's going on here? I heard loud noises." Then he saw Luigi and hissed. "Who are you?"

Mario stepped forward quickly. "Um, this is my brother, Luigi. I was hoping you'd consider him for entry into the tournament."

Although the hood concealed his face, it could be assumed that the hooded figure was looking Luigi up and down. Finally, he said, "I think not. He is too scrawny."

"Scrawny!" Luigi bellowed, and acting on impulse, he wheeled around and socked Bowser in the nose, knocking him over.

"Hey!" Bowser cried, "What'd I do?"

"See?" Mario said proudly. "He has power."

The figure hissed again, then said, "Very well. Perhaps he can lend some valor to this event."

"Oh, and can we arrange for some kind of garden for him, maybe at the back of the compound? It's for the health of a combatant."

"Done."

"All right!" Mario and Luigi cried together, giving each other the high five. "It'll be just like old times, eh bro?" Mario said, elbowing his brother.

"You know it!" Luigi replied.

"Come on, let's get some lunch!"

"Great, I'm starving!"

Popo looked at Nana and groaned. "This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them!"

To Be Continued… 

**Next Chapter: **_We begin looking at our fights in great detail!_


	15. Link's Departure

**Chapter 15**

_Link's Departure_

**A/N: **_Okay, first thing's first: There's been a little change of plans. As these past 3 hours have proved that I cannot fill an entire chapter with a fight sequence. So for the folks who were hoping for that, I sincerely apologize. Instead, enjoy this small arc I have designed that will ultimately combine some of the great classic games. I hope you all like it!_

_"Hey… wake up! Wake up!"_

"Mm… is that you, my fiery little redhead?" Link murmured as he began to wake up.

"Who?" came the same voice, but in a more indignant tone, followed by a slap on Link's face.

"Yow!" Link cried, snapping bolt upright in bed. "Who is that?"

"It's me, you idiot!" Zelda snarled. "Who is this redhead you mentioned?"

"Oh… it's… it's nobody…" Link said, looking away.

"Oh, yeah, right!" Zelda said, turning and walking away. "I can't believe you were dreaming of someone else! After you told me I was the only one you thought of! I must have been out of my mind!"

"No, no, Zelda!" Link said, trying to get out of bed quickly, and tripping over the sheets and falling on his face. "It's nobody, really! I just have weird dreams sometimes! Honestly!"

"Like I believe that!" Zelda said, wheeling around, causing her dress to swirl about her feet. "We're Hylians, Link. We don't have dreams for no reason! Now, I have a fight with Samus, so I'll see you later! …Unfortunately." And she stormed out of the bunk.

Link groaned and fell back on the bed. This was an utter disaster! Of all the inopportune times, it seemed his brain had picked the worst one to give him a dream about _her…_

He put the pillow over his face and screamed into it. This was no good… Zelda would tell everyone! Link the unfaithful, Link the infidel… It wasn't his fault that another woman got to his heart before she did. He had tried to put her out of his mind, telling himself there was no chance he'd ever see her again… he tried to love Zelda like everyone said he was supposed to, but… it just wasn't working. Screaming into the pillow one more time, he threw it aside and got dressed.

A short while later, he was in the dining hall eating breakfast when Peach approached him.

"Hey Link," she said in a smooth voice.

"Hello, your Highness," he said without looking up.

"Um, Zelda wanted me to give you something," she said.

"Really?" Link asked, looking up.

"Yes," Peach replied, and she slapped Link hard. "You deserve a lot more than that, but I thought you were cute!" and she turned on her heel and marched back to her table.

"It's not like I haven't tried to do something about this!" Link roared in Peach's direction.

"Ah, ignore her, man," Mario said, sliding onto the seat across from Link. Once he had Link's attention, he leaned in and said, "So who is she?"

"She's nobody," Link grumbled, not looking up.

"Horseshit it's nobody," Mario said pleasantly. "Come on, spill the beans."

"You're not going to let up, are you?" Link snapped.

"You got that right," Mario said with a smile.

Link sighed. "All right, fine! A long time ago, I had just got done with an adventure in these two sister countries, Labrynna and Holodrum. I had been sent there by the Triforce."

"Interesting," Mario said, rubbing his chin. "Go on."

"Well, after everything was all mopped up, I built a boat and was sailing home to Hyrule, when I got shipwrecked. I washed up on this uncharted island, and I would have died right there on the beach… but this absolutely gorgeous girl saved me. Flowing red hair, golden voice…"

"Did she live under the sea?" Mario interrupted, before snickering. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it,"

"Are you through?" Link asked, annoyed.

"Yes, I'm sorry."

"So anyway, I didn't think much about her in the beginning; all I was really concerned about was getting off that island. But after a while she just got to me. By the time my quest was over, I was madly in love with her, and I knew she felt the same."

"So why didn't you just stay there?" Mario asked.

"I couldn't… I had work left to do in Hyrule. So, long story short, I had to leave my one true love behind, alone on an island I may never see again.. I've never gotten over that. I miss her so much…" He stopped speaking and looked down, biting his lip.

"Hey, it's okay, man," Mario said. "Some things just take more time than others. Besides, there are plenty of girls here, or in Aldaria nearby. I mean, now that you've lost Zelda and all…"

"Shut up about that already," Link snapped.

"Hey, sorry," Mario said, raising his hands in defense. "I'm just trying to make a bad situation better for ya…"

"Hey Mario!" called Luigi as he walked past the table, "I'm going up to the cantine for a Red Bull, do you want one?"

"Yeah, I'll come with you," Mario said. He turned back to Link and slapped the table twice. "Cheer up, kid. It'll get better." He got up and followed his brother.

Link finished his breakfast and was leaving the dining hall when Pikachu dashed up to him and leapt onto his shoulder.

"Oh, hey little guy," Link said.

"Pikachu!" The mouse said, wiggling his ears.

"Boy I'm glad you can't talk," Link said. "You won't judge me like those others."

Pikachu smiled, patted Link on the back, and dashed off.

"He's adorable," Link said with a chuckle. He walked out of the dining hall and was heading towards the battle area when he was suddenly jolted hard from behind. He fell flat on his face, his hat flying off and landing several feet away.

After several moments, he rolled onto his back and looked up to see Donkey Kong standing there.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" Link snarled.

Donkey Kong grunted, and used both his hands to stand Link on his feet. Then he reached around and pulled something off of Link's back.

"What is this?" Link wondered, examining it. It was a piece of paper, specifically a scrap of Celadon Hotel stationery. On it was written in jagged letters, "Kick me, I cheat."

"That little yellow sack of dung!" Link growled. But then he looked up and said to the gorilla, "I didn't know you could read."

"Mystery," Donkey Kong grunted, taking a huge shrug and then ambling off down the path.

"This day could _not_ get worse!" Link roared, stomping down the path.

"Hello there," drawled an icy voice off to his left. He looked to see a hooded figure leaning against the tree.

"Do you have a question?" Link asked irritably. He had never known these folk to carry out more than the protocols of the city.

"You know this tournament requires loyalty to the city and its officials," the hooded figure said.

"Yeah? What of it?"

"Well Mr. Handey has sent me to make sure that you won't… betray us too."

"How did you even hear about that?" Link snapped.

The hooded figure drew very close to Link's face. _"We hear everything."_ It hissed, and turned away, robes swirling and began to leave, although Link swore he heard it chuckle.

"This is horse shit!" Link screamed. "That's it! I don't have to take this!"

"Princess Zelda, a word with you."

"Hmm?" said the Hylian princess, looking over at the hooded figure that had come up beside her. "What's wrong?"

"Mr. Handey wishes to speak with you."

"Why? What did I do?"

Instead of responding, the hooded figure passed her a small, flat circular disc and pushed the center of it. A beam of light came out of it, and a holographic image of a ball with lines crossing in the lower left corner appeared above the disc.

"Good evening, your Highness," said a deep voice.

"Um… good evening, Mr. Handey." Zelda replied uncertainly.

"Your Highness, things are not well in Battlefield City. One of our fighters has been missing for a prolonged amount of time."

Zelda was genuinely unsure of what this apparition meant. "What are you talking about? Who has gone missing?"

"I believe it was the young man you are sharing your bunk with. We have cause to believe his absence is correlated to the altercation you had with him this morning."

"Well it's not my fault if he turned tail and ran," Zelda said with some arrogance.

"Be that as it may, each combatant here has given his sacred pledge to remain in the competition till the end, if you so remember. If someone has caused one of those people to be absent from this tournament, then the instigator must be held responsible."

Zelda held up her hands. "Hey, Link's actions got him to where he is. It's not fair that I should be punished because of his stupidity."

"You misunderstand, Princess. We do not intend to administer any form of punishment. …Yet. However, you must find a way to bring him back. That's your current priority."

"What? But I have no idea where he is!" Zelda complained.

"I have said all that I came here to say," Mr. Handey concluded. "I sincerely wish you luck."

And with that, the hologram above the disc faded, and the hooded figure wordlessly strode away.

"Oh, freakin GREAT!" Zelda shrieked, kicking the ground.

A short while later, Zelda walked into the Cantine, which was a combination of a store, an eatery, and a hangout. Most of the fighters were gathered there: Mario and Luigi were throwing darts; Samus and Fox were sharing some ice cream; Captain Falcon was giving the mechanical bull a run for its money; Bowser, Yoshi, and Jigglypuff were sitting at the counter eating, and Ness was playing the Galaga machine.

"Ask him how he can eat those and have a clear conscience," Yoshi said to Jigglypuff, shuddering as he watched Bowser devour hard-boiled eggs whole. Using her red microphone, Jigglypuff repeated the question to Bowser.

"Well, as long as _these_ eggs didn't come out of your hind, I don't really care," Bowser said, swallowing a few more.

Yoshi narrowed his eyes, then said something to the waiter, and then turned to Jigglypuff and said, "Tell him I just ordered turtle soup."

Jigglypuff obeyed, and immediately afterwards, Bowser began to choke on an egg.

"I got it!" Mario called, running over. He wound up and socked Bowser in the back of the neck, and the egg rocketed out of his throat and landed squarely in the trash can.

"He shoots, he scores!" Luigi cheered from across the room.

"Um, can I have your attention please?" Zelda called from the doorway. The room fell silent as everyone turned to look at her. "I'm afraid there's a bit of a problem."

"Oh God, did Link come out to you?" Samus asked. "I had a feeling he would sooner or later."

"No, no no," Zelda said, raising her hands. "He's… disappeared."

Wary glances were strewn about the room.

"Well, where did he go?" Fox asked.

"I don't know!" Zelda said, distressed. "But Mr. Handey has made it our priority to find him

"Well, maybe he went home to Hyrule," Jigglypuff said.

"No, it's impossible. I would have sensed his presence there."

Mario was rubbing his chin in thought. "I think I may have an inkling," he piped up.

All gazes were diverted to him.

"Now, maybe I'm way off, but I suggest that perhaps our little pointy-eared friend has gone to find his old flame on Piece-of-Lint Island or whatever it was."

"Koholint," Zelda corrected him. "And what makes you say that?"

"Simple," Mario replied. "He got fed up with being picked on for _having_ a relationship with said old flame, and decided to return to her rather than deal with the heat."

"Well, I do know of one way we can be sure," Zelda said after a moment. "Link carries the Master Sword with him. I can try to sense its presence, since it is a sacred relic of the Hylia." She closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, and for a few moments it seemed like the light in the room dimmed for all but Zelda, giving her a kind of a glow. Then she opened her eyes and spoke.

"I was able to pick up a faint trace of it. It was miles and miles south of Hyrule, and there's no continents in that direction."

"And how far away from here is that?" Samus asked.

"Surprisingly not far," Zelda said. "A few days across the sea. But we have no way of sailing."

Murmurs of agreement ran throughout the room, until Luigi noticed that Bowser was looking around nervously.

"What's the matter, Bowser?" Luigi asked.

"Nothing," Bowser grunted, but when he saw everyone's eyes on him, he faltered. "Well… I mean…"

"Spit it out, Bowser," Mario said warningly.

"Well, it's just that… I have some…"

"You have some WHAT?" Luigi demanded.

"I have ships!" Bowser screamed. "Remember those military battleships I…er…used against you two in Dark Land?"

Mario snapped his fingers. "That's right! Those ships were so sturdy they could float on lava!"

"Precisely," Bowser said with a chuckle. "And if you wanted, I could have my kids airlift them over here… but I would expect something in return."

"And what would that be?" Mario asked as apprehensive glances were exchanged.

"The princess must kiss me!" Bowser declared.

"What?" Peach shrieked.

"Hmm…" Mario murmured.

"Mario, you're not considering it?" Peach cried.

"Well, I mean… it's not _that_ bad…"

"I'm not going to kiss him!" Peach snapped.

Bowser leaned back in his chair and examined his nails. "I guess you're not all that serious about getting elfy boy back then."

"Do it, Princess," Zelda said. "We'll all have to pay a price if Link isn't brought back safe."

"Can't I just, like, buy you dinner or something?" Peach asked. "I'll take you to this one place, they have the _best_ swordfish you have ever tasted!"

"No, it has to be a kiss." Bowser said with joviality.

"Princess, if you do this for us, I'll buy you that silk dress you saw in Aldraia," Mario said.

"Really?" she asked, before sighing. "Fine… but it's only going to be a peck!"

She nervously walked up to Bowser, but as she was leaning in, he opened his mouth and let out a great big horrible belch that shook the room.

"Aaaagh!" Peach wailed, leaping back.

"Ah ha ha ha!" Bowser cackled in triumph. "Oh it was SO worth it!"

"Aaaaagh, I felt it on my face!" Peach cried in distress. "It smells like rotten eggs and poo! Mario, hurt him!"

"There, there," Mario said soothingly. "At least you didn't have to kiss him."

"You're all horrible!" Peach screeched, before storming out.

"Peach, wait!" Mario called, running after her.

"So," Bowser said, when he had finished laughing. "Where were we?"

"I believe you were going to contact your wretched little seeds," Luigi said coldly.

"Oh yeah!" Bowser said, and he reached behind his shell and pulled out a cell phone.

"You have a cell phone?" Fox asked in surprise.

"Yes," Bowser growled. "It's just so hard to push these buttons with my claws…Wait, I have voice activated dial!" He pushed a button, and said, "The munchkins," and the phone began dialing.

"The munchkins?" Luigi asked with a shudder.

"Hi Lemmy, it's daddy!" Bowser said. "How are ya, sport? Good, good. How's Wendy and her new boyfriend? Oh really? That's a shame. But, that's what you get when you date a Paratroopa, I suppose. Anyway, is Ludwig there? Great. Can I talk to him? Thanks. And daddy will be home to see you real soon, and I'll have presents! What? Of course you're my favorite son! That's right. Now put your brother on."

There was a silence for a few moments, and then Bowser started talking again. "Hey son, how are you? Listen, I need a favor. Can you and your brothers get your airships and fly my three battleships over to Battlefield City? Great! I'll see you in a few hours then. Yes, Ludwig, you know you've always been my favorite son. Okay. Buh-bye."

After a short stunned silence, Luigi said, "Bowser, I didn't know you were such a family man,"

"I once had a Grand Goomba concubine," Bowser said without looking over.

"What?"

"See, that's _two_ things about me you didn't know!" And the large turtle got up and marched from the cantine.

The room was silent for a few minutes, and then Fox looked at his watch and said, "Well we really should be…" and then all at once the others began voicing matters of things they needed to do, and the room slowly emptied.

Three hours later, the skies grew dark over Battlefield City, and the loud droning of motors filled the air as several ominous shapes flew overhead, then began to land. It was the seven Koopa Kids in their airships, and attached to the bottoms of these ships were three massive seagoing vessels with all sorts of cannons and turrets.

"Oh good, they're here!" Bowser said with delight as everyone else began to follow the airships to the beachfront.

Once all the vessels had landed, a screechy voice spoke from one of the hulls, though nobody could see the speaker.

"Who are the cutest little troublemakers in all the land? Tell them, boys!"

And then, the Koopa Kids appeared on the railings of the airships.

"Form of, the Koopa Kids!" They cried together.

"Larry!"

"Morton!"

"Wendy!"

"Iggy!"

"Roy!"

"Lemmy!"

"Ludwig!"

As they each shouted their name they leapt down onto the sand in turn.

"Goooooo Koopas!" They shouted together, doing a simultaneous high-five.

"Do they always do this?" Mario asked Bowser quietly. The Koopa King nodded.

"Hi daddy!" Wendy said, clinging to her father's leg.

"Hey sweetie," he said. "Sorry to hear about Percy."

"I know!" Wendy sobbed, tearing up. "He was my world!"

"But your world was Water Land," Iggy mumbled, but Roy smacked him over the head.

"Well, well, well, look who it is," Larry Koopa sneered, walking up to Mario. "It's been a while."

"Yes it has," Mario said gruffly.

"You're lucky I don't have that magic wand anymore," he said. "Or I'd do terrible things to you!"

"Now Larry, come on, we _like_ the Mario Brothers now," Bowser said. "At least, until this tournament is over."

Mario rolled his eyes and made a sarcastic face.

"I still say he got past me by dirty pool," Ludwig said snootily. "Human beings cannot turn into statues. It's not biologically possible."

"Well, we owe you one for bringing the ships to us," Falcon said. "They really are well built."

"Actually, they were our toy boats, but Daddy made them bigger with magic," Iggy said, and Roy smacked him upside the head again.

"Shut your yap!" he snarled.

"I'll call you guys again when you can come pick them up." Bowser said, and all the Koopa Kids piled back into the airships, detached the battleships from the hulls, and flew off again, leaving the battleships rocking gently in the waves.

"So!" Mario said, clapping his hands once. "Who do we bring along?"

Everyone looked around at each other warily.

At length, Yoshi stepped forward, and taking the red microphone from Jigglypuff, he said, "Mario, I've been at your side through countless adventures. If I can help you in any way, I will." He walked to Mario's side. "You have my eggs."

"And you have my gun," Fox said after stepping up beside Yoshi.

"And my fist," Falcon said proudly, joining them.

"Mario's not going anywhere without me," Luigi said, dashing over and standing proudly beside his brother.

"We're coming too!" The Ice Climbers said in unison. "For so long we have yearned to see the ocean."

"Great!" Mario said. "Nevertheless, Zelda must come with us. She is connected to all of this. So let's see, there are 8 of us. Very well. We shall be the group that brings Link back to Battlefield City! Let's all get some rest, we have a big journey ahead of us."

The group cheered, and then began to disperse to their bunks.

**To Be Continued!**

**Coming in Part 2: Link pledged to never forget about Marin. But what about her?**


End file.
